Immigration Equality

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133802711
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
2127142904
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Lesbian, Gay Rights

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,553,307
Expenses
$2,393,708
Assets
$2,778,792
Liabilities
$104,270

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AARON MORRIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AARON MORRIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $175,066 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER CARREL PICERNO (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $168,821 total reported compensation
  • BRIDGET CRAWFORD (DIRECTOR OF LAW AND POLICY): $159,806 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Immigration equality promotes justice and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-positive immigrants through direct legal services, policy advocacy, and impact litigation.

What it reported doing in 2025

Legal services - immigration equality provides direct legal services and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-positive (lgbtq/h) immigrants. We currently provide legal representation to more than 500 lgbtq/h individuals through our in-house legal team and nationwide pro bono network. Our staff attorneys provide direct legal representation and train pro bono attorneys on how to represent their asylum clients. Our legal team also represents lgbtq/h asylum seekers detained in immigration jails, securing their release, representing them directly or helping them secure legal counsel, and providing them with significant resources to help themselves. Finally, we identify lgbtq/h refugees in need of support, and help them file their applications for resettlement to safer countries.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% 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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 54
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 6.3%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.3% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $175K · 20 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.