Disability Services & Legal Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942345086
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
Phone
7075282745
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,755,364
Expenses
$1,681,126
Assets
$558,044
Liabilities
$304,488

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Wayne Downey (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Adam Brown (Executive Dir.): $202,726 total reported compensation
  • Ann Galantine (Finance Dir): $93,341 total reported compensation
  • Veronica Castro (Finance Dir): $78,034 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

DSLC provides services and support to individuals with disabilities of any age to advance their rights to equal justice, access, opportunity and participation in their communities. DSLC has offices in Santa Rosa, Ukiah, and Napa serving Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties. DSLC assisted more than 1,800 individuals and their families during the year to secure benefits and locate affordable, accessible housing. DSLC offers peer supportand support groups, information and training concerning assistive devices, and more. DSLC also educates the public to bring about a greater understanding of disability issues and disability awareness.

What it reported doing in 2023

Dslc provides services to persons with disabilities to enable them to live independent and productive lives. The organization also educates the public and advocates for rights of disabled persons.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 95% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 92.1%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.2%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.55; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.3%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.4% of revenue deployed · 92.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $203K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2023
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.