GLBT Bar Association of Washington Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
651253851
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2064832725
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Intergroup, Race Relations

Reported finances

Revenue
$634,096
Expenses
$625,008
Assets
$198,156
Liabilities
$344

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Shaun Wha Nieh (Co-Executive Director)
  • Rebekah Gardea (Co-Executive Director)
  • Veronica Borean (Co-Executive Director)
  • Jennifer Denise Diskin (Co-Executive Director)
  • Dallas Martinez (Co-Executive Director)
  • Jane Carmody (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Shaun Wha Nieh (Co-Executive Director): $75,171 total reported compensation
  • Rebekah Gardea (Co-Executive Director): $75,171 total reported compensation
  • Veronica Borean (Co-Executive Director): $74,410 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 QLaw Foundation promotes the dignity and respect of LGBTQ Washingtonians within the legal system

What it reported doing in 2024

LEGAL ASSISTANCE QLaw provides free legal clinics. In 2024 we provided free advice and consultation to 217 individuals with our LGBTQ Legal Clinic. Our transgender legal clinics provided free advice and consultation services for 51 individuals in 2024. We also provided attorney referrals for 230 individuals in 2024 through our Attorney Referral Network.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 47.7%; rating input score 48
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 53.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 37.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 29.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47% of revenue deployed · 47.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $298K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 48/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.