Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
824375254
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Orleans, LA, USA
Phone
5042650416
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Human Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,025,120
Expenses
$800,080
Assets
$508,407
Liabilities
$232,732

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Allyson Page (Executive Director)
  • Kathleen Gasparian (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Allyson Page (Executive Director): $100,000 total reported compensation
  • Emma Morley (Staff Attorney): $77,125 total reported compensation
  • Jessica Gutierrez (Legal Fellow): $72,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Immigration Legal Services and Advocacy (ISLA) provides direct representation to indigent detained immigrants throughout Louisiana on a pro bono basis and under a universal representation model. ISLA provides information to the public to advocate for humane immigration policies.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, ISLA attorneys and staff provided pro-bono direct reprentation before the immigration court and the board of immigration appeals to 212 indigent immigrants in ICE detention. ISLA also represented 25 unaccompanied children and 14 immigrants who are mentally incompetent and unable to afford or represent themselves in immigration court. We operate a self-help desk at the immigration court and provide orientation and assistance to immigrants unable to afford or access representation. In 2024 ISLA provided popular education, self workshops and training to 554 immigrants and in communities across Louisiana.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 100% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.1%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 79.6%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $56.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 66.5%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.1% of revenue deployed · 79.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $637K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.