Justice Defense Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
851451255
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3032190529
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,204,787
Expenses
$1,144,299
Assets
$471,458
Liabilities
$8,954

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Laila Mickelwait (Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Laila Mickelwait (Chief Executive Officer): $136,875 total reported compensation
  • Morgan Perry (COO): $134,583 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public Pressure Campaigns: By shining a spotlight on the issue at hand, JDF brings significant public pressure and accountability to abusers, their enablers, and government officials, compelling them to take action. JDF educates legislators, corporations, and the public in order to advocate for the adoption of laws and policies both domestically and internationally that prevent sex trafficking, online child sexual abuse, and image-based sexual abuse (IBSA).

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 75% for direct work, and 25% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.5%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $31.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 43.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 34.1% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.5% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.5% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $982K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $137K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.