Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 561202940
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Charlotte, NC, USA
- Phone
- 7043761600
- Rating
- 89
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Legal Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,757,615
- Expenses
- $6,086,763
- Assets
- $9,875,347
- Liabilities
- $2,423,418
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Kara Moskowitz (Interim CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Kara Moskowitz (Interim CEO): $137,710 total reported compensation
- Douglas Sea (Director/Attorney): $122,534 total reported compensation
- Kelly Lynn (Philanthropy Dir): $115,697 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy provides civil legal representation to meet basic human needs of safety, security and stability. Our mission is to provide justice for those in need.During FY2025, we worked on 13,537 cases and shared information about our services to 28,579 people.(4,179 cases + 49 fingerprinting clients + 7,723 Ombudsman cases + 1,586 Navigator apts)
What it reported doing in 2024
Family Support and Health Care ProgramThis program advocates for children, seniors, people living with disabilities, immigrants and veterans to get the health care, public benefits and services they need. During the year, we worked on 721 1,108 cases and helped families access critical benefits like food stamps, Medicaid, and Social Security. Within this program, the Health Insurance Navigators provide clarity, guidance and peace of mind for those seeking unbiased help choosing the right coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace at HealthCare.gov or by applying for Medicaid. The Navigators completed 1,704 1,586 appointments, enrolling 487 510 individuals in Medicaid or Marketplace plans; provided post-enrollment assistance to 213 219 consumers, and served diverse communities with support in English, Spanish, ASL, and other languages. We are a part of the NC Medicaid Ombudsman Program, and we advocate for people with NC Medicaid to get the care they need and to help them navigate the new environment by providing free, confidential services. The Advocacy Centers Ombudsmen worked on 7,723 cases, with 6,588 being served through issue resolution and referrals.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 82.3%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -27.9%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.62; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $138K · 22 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.