Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 481219759
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2013
- Location
- Lawrence, KS, USA
- Phone
- 7852748311
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public Interest Law
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $743,118
- Expenses
- $1,020,370
- Assets
- $1,294,110
- Liabilities
- $1,116,596
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CARLY DUVALL LE RICHE (Vice President)
- C EDWARD WATSON (President)
Highest reported compensation
- JAMI REEVER (Executive Dir.): $124,466 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We believe Kansans, working together, can build a state full of thriving, inclusive, and just communities. We're working for a future where:- All Kansans have the resources they need to support themselves and raise healthy families.- All Kansans can participate fully in the community under equal protection of the law.- All Kansans benefit from a fair and effective judicial system.Kansas Appleseed works with community partners to understand the root causes of problems, support strong grassroots coalitions, and advocate for comprehensive solutions so all Kansans can reach their full potential. In other words: Justice for all.
What it reported doing in 2024
The juvenile justice reforms Kansas Appleseed championed have resulted in a reduction of over 80% to the number of youth in the state's juvenile justice system. Kansas Appleseed continues to work with formerly incarcerated youth, state agencies, and partner organizations to ensure community-based alternatives to incarceration are implemented. Kansas Appleseed continued advocating for kids and families affected by the state foster care system, working with the Strengthen Families Rebuild Hope coalition and with legislators interested in adding much needed oversight to the failing system. The federal class-action lawsuit filed in November 2018 on behalf of youth in foster care, was settled in early 2021, resulting in safeguards to prevent extreme placement instability and to provide adequate access to mental health resources.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 85% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 21
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 82.5%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -37.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.86; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $841K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $124K · 23 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.