East River Legal Services Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237101054
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone
6052756938
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Interest Law

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,963,543
Expenses
$1,975,091
Assets
$1,029,228
Liabilities
$541,211

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dan Fritz (President)
  • Jessica Niedert (Vice President)
  • Lea Wroblewski (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lea Wroblewski (Executive Director): $126,123 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Providing civil legal services to low income individuals in 33 counties in eastern South Dakota.

What it reported doing in 2025

East River Legal Services uses the power of the law to ensure access to basic needs and help individuals and families move out of poverty. Through the support of funders, donors, volunteers, and community partners, the organization provides civil legal services that improve clients' safety and health, promote economic stability, secure safe and affordable housing, and ensure access to justice and accountability within government systems.The mission of East River Legal Services is to provide equal access to justice for vulnerable individuals by delivering high-quality legal services and pursuing systemic solutions to poverty-related legal problems.In 2025, East River Legal Services received requests for legal assistance from low-income individuals and families throughout eastern South Dakota and closed 1,509 cases across 38 counties. Legal services were provided in substantive areas including housing, family law, consumer protection, and public benefits, with a focus on preserving housing stability, increasing financial security, and protecting vulnerable individuals from abuse and exploitation.East River Legal Services continued to expand services through street outreach and housing retention initiatives designed to improve access to legal services for unhoused and highly vulnerable individuals. These efforts focus on reducing barriers to housing, obtaining identification documents and benefits, resolving legal obstacles to stability, and increasing collaboration with community service providers to improve long-term client outcomes.Client demographics included 436 clients with disabilities, 67 veteran-related cases, and 265 cases involving victims of domestic violence. The organization also served older adults, families with children, and individuals experiencing housing instability and poverty-related legal barriers.In addition to direct legal representation, East River Legal Services conducted community outreach, collaborated with nonprofit and governmental partners, and provided legal education designed to increase access to justice for underserved populations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 90% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.1%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $48.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th 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; 64th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.6%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.52; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.6% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.1% of revenue deployed · 75.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.