Government Justice Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
813942898
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Albany, NY, USA
Phone
5184343125
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Interest Law

Reported finances

Revenue
$101,021
Expenses
$81,015
Assets
$19,658
Liabilities
$5,112

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ZILVINAS SILENAS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAMERON J MACDONALD (TREASURER): $118,810 total reported compensation
  • MARK WALSH (SECRETARY): $87,138 total reported compensation
  • ZILVINAS SILENAS (PRESIDENT): $77,311 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To protect taxpayers from government waste, negligence, misappropriation, and other improper actions.

What it reported doing in 2024

Legal services the government justice center, inc. Provides legal services to those seeking to enforce the constitutional rule of law and promote government transparency and accountability. See schedule o for a description of cases litigated and the rationale for the determination that the litigation benefits the public generally.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 96.6%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $392.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.8%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 46.6%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -27.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -25.4% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 59.1% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.4% of revenue deployed · 96.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $78K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $119K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.