Empire Justice Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161487925
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
5854544060
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,571,184
Expenses
$12,553,084
Assets
$5,310,237
Liabilities
$2,652,114

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KRISTIN LILLEY BROWN (PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KRISTIN LILLEY BROWN (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $242,433 total reported compensation
  • KRISTIN HUGHES (COO): $207,600 total reported compensation
  • MAGGIE R ROBB (SENIOR ATTORNEY DIRECTOR): $206,780 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To protect and strengthen the legal rights of people in New York state who are poor, disabled or disenfranchised through: systems change advocacy, training and support to other advocates and organizations, and high quality direct civil legal representation.

What it reported doing in 2025

Housing and tenant advocacy (see schedule o): since 2012 empire justice has managed more than 60 contracts with legal services and housing counseling agencies working in foreclosure prevention outside of nyc, in addition to providing extensive training and technical assistance, as part of the nys office of the attorney general's homeownership protection program (hopp). As a direct services provider working in foreclosure with funding through hopp, united way and the city of rochester, empire justice helped more than 80 monroe county families facing foreclosure, avoiding or delaying loss of the home in almost half of all cases. With state funding, housing advocates in rochester work under the tenant defense project to identify and implement systemic solutions for tenants facing eviction with telesca center for justice partners, the legal aid society of rochester, lawny and justcause. On long island, advocates helped more than 160 families facing eviction in 2025 with emergency rental assistance program funding through the office of temporary and disability assistance (otda), through a subcontract with legal services of long island. Empire justice is also contracted by the community service society to bring the education debt consumer assistance program (edcap) to the capital region, engaging in extensive outreach and providing tailored assistance to almost 90 clients on their student loan repayment options in 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 96.2%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 0.1%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.1% of revenue deployed · 96.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $12.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $242K · 23 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $488K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.