Detroit Justice Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822295339
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Detroit, MI, USA
Phone
3137365957
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Administration of Justice, Courts

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,533,667
Expenses
$3,618,064
Assets
$5,163,505
Liabilities
$92,151

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Nancy Parker (Employee): $200,794 total reported compensation
  • Eric Williams (Employee): $150,162 total reported compensation
  • Regina Sharma (Employee): $145,687 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Detroit Justice Center works alongside communities to create economic opportunities, transform the justice system, and promote equitable and just cities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Detroit Justice Center (DJC) is a nonprofit law firm working alongside communities to create economic opportunities, transform the justice system, and promote equitable and just cities. In 2024, DJC advanced its mission through movement lawyering, policy advocacy, and non-carceral pilot programs. The Legal Services and Advocacy Practice directly represented 577 clients, staving off threats of incarceration and helping residents maintain jobs and stable housing. The Economic Equity Practice supported Detroiters in forming community land trusts, worker-owned cooperatives, and enterprises led by returning citizens to promote affordable housing and build wealth. The Innovation Labs pilot programs leveraged research, advocacy, and coalition building to increase access to restorative justice and non-carceral systems of care. DJCs program service expenses for 2024 totaled approximately $2.3 million, supported primarily by foundation grants and individual gifts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.5%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 62.9%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.2%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.43; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.5% of revenue deployed · 62.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $201K · 14 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.