Law Foundation of Berks County
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 232770367
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015
- Location
- Reading, PA, USA
- Phone
- 6103754591
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Service Clubs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $215,296
- Expenses
- $155,138
- Assets
- $1,071,937
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- VALERIE WEST ESQ (PRESIDENT)
- WILLIAM R BLUMER ESQ (VICE PRESIDENT)
- KORI WALTER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- KORI WALTER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $147,151 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The law foundation of berks county is a non-profit corporation designed to raise and provide funds to support charitable efforts in berks county including, but not limited to, educational endeavors as well as programming that increases access to justice or AIDS in the administration of justice.
What it reported doing in 2024
The law foundation of berks county provided $52,000 in grants to non-profit, community-based organizations. These grants provided critical support to at-risk youth and families in need of temporary financial support to avoid homelessness and retain jobs. In addition, funding assisted with efforts to interview victims of child abuse and neglect and to prosecute perpetrators. And grants supported initiatives to expand access to justice for immigrants, children in foster care, victims of domestic violence and discrimination, and those seeking to become u.s. Citizens. Further, the law foundation provided funding in 2024 to the berks county treatment court for individuals working to overcome mental health and drug and alcohol abuse. The court used funds to open a "victory vault". The vault is stocked with a variety of items, such as journals, insulated mugs, personal care items, electronics that are available to individuals who make positive progress toward completing the treatment court program. While the exact number of individuals served is unknown, the organizations who received funding have reported that hundreds, if not more than 1,000, members of the greater reading area have benefitted from programs supported by the law foundation of berks county. Finally, the foundation's book 'em program provided more than 1,500 books to students attending pre-kindergarten and kindergarten in the 17 elementary schools in the reading school district. Approximately 80 volunteer readers visited the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms to read to the students during book 'em week in may.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 62% for direct work, and 38% for 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 some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 81
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 75
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76.5%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 72.9%; rating input score 73; 46th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 27.9%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.91; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76.5% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $155K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 13 of 14 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.