International Society of Barristers Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 300112645
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-PF 2024
- Location
- Durham, NC, USA
- Phone
- 9196123955
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Private Independent Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $95,776
- Expenses
- $94,057
- Assets
- $567,765
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STEPHEN M BRUCKNER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- DONALD H BESKIND (EXECUTIVE SECRETARY): $90,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The international society of barristers foundation makes grants in support of the following general purposes: (1) to encourage, by example and otherwise, the entry of younger lawyers into the specialty of advocacy; (2) to encourage the continuation of advocacy under the adversary system; (3) to assist advocates in the perfection of the techniques of advocacy; (4) to encourage the retention of trial by jury in litigated matters and to resist usurpation by lay arbitrators and government tribunals which fail to guarantee the basic rights of citizens; (5) to improve or to support the justice system or any of its components; and (6) to encourage ethical practice and professionalism in the adversary system.
What it reported doing in 2025
The center for death penalty litigation - grant funding to provide representation to those on death row as well as providing consulting, research and training services to attorneys.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 83% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 50
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 95%; rating input score 95
- Program expense ratio: 95.7%; rating input score 96
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 58th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 1.8%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.04; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: Limited
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 95% of revenue deployed · 95.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $90K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $90K · 18 people listed
- Consistency: 14 of 15 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 3 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.