Georgia Bar Foundation

Legal name: Georgia Bar Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
580552594
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
(404) 588-2239
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,142,732
Expenses
$11,844,488
Assets
$15,899,334
Liabilities
$451,801

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael T Nations (Vice President)
  • W Terence Walsh (President)
  • Hon Derek J White (President Emeritus)
  • Rachel Barnhard (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Rachel Barnhard (Executive Director): $192,599 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 Georgia Bar Foundation is the Supreme Court of Georgia's philanthropic arm, entrusted to advance access to justice for people and communities statewide.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Georgia bar foundation, inc. As part of its overall exempt activities, conducts projects which support community-oriented, law-related projects for the public good. Grants are awarded to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code and to other charitable organizations whose purposes are consistent with those of the Georgia bar foundation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 97% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 97%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.3%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.34; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.6%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 81.2% of revenue deployed · 97% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $193K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 44 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 43 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.