Elder Law & Advocacy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 953353924
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Diego, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8585651392
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Legal Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,354,428
- Expenses
- $2,349,113
- Assets
- $1,596,484
- Liabilities
- $427,721
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LAURIE J CATRON (President)
- DAMIEN J SNOW (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- JAIME LEVINE (Executive Dir.): $190,563 total reported compensation
- ANDREW A THOMPSON (ATTORNEY): $145,689 total reported compensation
- JENNA L MACRAE (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $110,216 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Elder Law & Advocacy (Elder Law) is a nonprofit organization incorporated on December 11, 1978 under the laws of the State of California. Elder Laws mission is to protect seniors by providing legal advice and advocacy. Elder Law serves seniors by helping them to defend their legal rights and preserve their respected place in the community. Elder Laws vision is to enhance the quality of life for persons 60 years of age and older.
What it reported doing in 2024
Legal Services: Legal Services for Older Adults: The Legal Services for Older Adults program provides no-cost legal services to residents of San Diego and Imperial Counties who are age 60 or older. Legal services consist of an initial counsel and advice session with an attorney licensed in the State of California, and follow-up legal work as indicated.Attorneys primarily meet with clients remotely but meet in-person when necessary. Attorneys are able to meet with medically fragile clients in their home. Community education presentations on a variety of legal topics are offered to seniors throughout the year.Caregiver Legal Consultation: The Caregiver Legal Consultation program provides legal support and information to family caregivers of elderly frail persons who have Alzheimers disease or other debilitating brain injuries or conditions, and have difficulty caring for themselves.Caregiver Legal Consultation attorneys provide legal counseling, advice, advocacy, and referrals to community resources at no cost to family caregivers, in matters related to their caregiving role. Community education presentations covering a wide range of legal topics are offered to family caregivers throughout the year.Imperial Court Clinic: The Imperial County Restraining Order and Unlawful Detainer Clinic, in partnership with the Imperial County Superior Court, provided services related to restraining orders and landlord/tenant issues.Participants received help with court forms, court procedures, and general information about related rights and responsibilities for California residents. The clinic is also introducing the use of kiosks in order to assist litigants complete the Court forms.Elder Abuse Representation Project: The Elder Abuse Representation Project offers free legal advice and representation to older adults (aged 65+) who have been the victims of financial, physical, or emotional abuse. This program seeks to increase access to justice for seniors who would otherwise be unrepresented and encounter many barriers to successful completion, including facing their abuser in court alone and navigating the technicalities of the court process.Homelessness Prevention Projects: The Homelessness Prevention Projects provide free legal services to seniors at risk of homelessness. These projects seek to reach pre-trial resolutions, help project clients avoid Unlawful Detainer judgments and subsequent negative entries in background check databases, and secure adequate time for clients to locate appropriate housing. In order to meet a larger number of renters, project staff regularly provide community education.
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 29
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.4%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 83.3%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $29.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th 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; 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: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.68; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83.4% of revenue deployed · 83.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $191K · 12 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.