Economic Justice Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823512608
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9167584020
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Financial Institutions

Reported finances

Revenue
$605,619
Expenses
$576,879
Assets
$1,424,261
Liabilities
$268,014

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Scott Berman (CEO)
  • Ruth Jaure (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Scott Berman (CEO): $215,421 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Economic Justice Fund is a mission-driven Community Development Financial Institution that expands economic opportunity through fair and affordable financing and credit-building services for low-income borrowers. The Economic Justice Fund provides responsible loan products designed to advance financial capability and stability.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, the Economic Justice Fund originated 100 loans, with nearly 90% made to low-income borrowers or individuals living in low-income communities. EJF's lending programs provided a safe and affordable financing option for borrowers who lacked access to fair credit, with low fixed rates, no application fees, no origination fees, no servicing fees, and no prepayment fees. EJF's loans provided borrowers with access to affordable funding for emergency and urgent financial needs, while also supporting repayment of high-cost debt and the establishment of positive credit histories. EJF's principal lending initiatives included: Equitable Opportunity Loan: Provided a safe and affordable alternative to payday loans and other high-cost financing. Credit-Building Initiative: Supported borrowers in establishing positive credit histories through responsible loan repayment and credit-building services. Lifeline Pandemic Recovery Initiative: Provided financing to low-income borrowers facing financial hardship and limited access to affordable credit.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 71% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.6%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.7%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.47; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 37.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 24.5% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.6% of revenue deployed · 78.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $452K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $215K · 6 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.