Latin American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202484231
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015
Location
Trenton, NJ, USA
Phone
6096880881
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$803,829
Expenses
$739,969
Assets
$770,967
Liabilities
$248,733

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SASA OLESSI MONTANO (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • CECILIA JIMENEZ-WEEAST (Executive Dir.): $96,206 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote the rights of all immigrants (with a focus on the latin american community in the mercer county area); facilitate access to healthcare, education, and legal representation; advocate for the integration of immigrants; and foster intercultural communication that strengthens communities served.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth development - futuro program which is an inclusive and diverse youth mentoring program for first and second generation immigrant students. As part of this program, the organization provides mentoring and tutoring, sat/act prep, assistance with scholarship and college applications, resume development, financial literacy, visits to college campuses, and more complementary to the futuro program is futuro familia, which provides a forum for families of students to discuss concerns about the application process, as well as holistic family support. Laldef works with and engages entire families, understanding that by engaging with the community in thisway, we improve the lives of parents and their children.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 7.9%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.04; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $639K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.