Equal Justice Initiative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
631135091
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Montgomery, AL, United States
Phone
(334) 269-1803
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Censorship, Freedom of Speech and Press

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$73,423,570
Expenses
$52,081,236
Assets
$474,804,644
Liabilities
$9,510,716

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRYAN STEVENSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • TERA K DUVERNAY (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF LEGACY SITES): $210,859 total reported compensation
  • CHARLOTTE MORRISON (SENIOR ATTORNEY): $206,167 total reported compensation
  • SIA M SANNEH (SENIOR ATTORNEY): $180,130 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, eji welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors to the legacy sites: the legacy museum, the national memorial for peace and justice, and freedom monument sculpture park. The legacy sites offer visitors a powerful experience to confront our nation's history of racial injustice and the legacy of slavery. We erected new historical markers in several states. We published educational materials and our history of racial injustice calendars which have been widely disseminated and viewed by thousands. We continued our community remembrance project and provided thousands of dollars in scholarships to high school students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.2%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 95.4%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $210.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th 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: 99%; rating input score 99; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 62.5%; rating input score 62; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 29.1%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.12; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.6% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 10 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 74.2% of revenue deployed · 95.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $49.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $211K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.1M reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.