Justice Defenders (USA) Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 364787320
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
- Location
- Claymont, DE, USA
- Phone
- 3024404577
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Relief
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,331,729
- Expenses
- $3,023,876
- Assets
- $1,620,174
- Liabilities
- $132,598
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ALEXANDER MCLEAN (GLOBAL CEO/ USA SECRETARY)
Highest reported compensation
- ALEXANDER MCLEAN (GLOBAL CEO/ USA SECRETARY): $229,561 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Justice defenders provides legal education, training, and practice within defenseless communities. Founded in 2007, we work across 35+ prisons in africa where incarcerated people and officers train and provide legal services for themselves and others.
What it reported doing in 2024
In many countries, suspects are detained in prison almost automatically once they are arrested. Whatever the offense. Some, yes, are guilty. Many are poor, vulnerable, and unjustly targeted. Regardless, lives are lost waiting for justice to arrive. Our work helps the humans within the criminal justice system flourish. And this increased capacity promotes more equitable, just, and peaceful societies, in keeping with the un's 2030 sdg 16. Since our funding, 100,000+ individuals have been served via legal defense; 600+ paralegals have been trained in prison, 59 of which graduated from the university of london following the footsteps of nelson mandela; and 37,000+ individuals have been released. In 2024 alone, 45+ paralegals were trained, 30,000+ individuals were serviced via free legal defense, and 15,000+ individuals were released and returned to their families. We dream of a day where no one is punished or imprisoned - and certainly not caned or executed - without telling their side of the story. Our hope is for a world where each of us is equally accountable to and protected by the law. Because there can be no justice without peace, and there can be no peace without justice.
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: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 55
- Accountability: 89
- Sustainability: 18
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 62.1%; rating input score 62
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: 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: 90%; rating input score 90; 23rd 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: -127.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.6%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 22.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 23.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 62.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $230K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.