Lawyers for Good Government Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814543775
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
4049135529
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Community Service Clubs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,157,708
Expenses
$4,206,179
Assets
$5,687,289
Liabilities
$632,341

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TRACI FEIT LOVE (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • TRACI FEIT LOVE (PRESIDENT & CEO): $323,251 total reported compensation
  • STERLING HOWARD (VP DEV. & COMM.): $163,241 total reported compensation
  • JILLIAN BLANCHARD (VP CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENV. JUSTICE): $155,870 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 mobilize lawyers and advocates in large-scale pro bono programs and issue advocacy campaigns to ensure that all levels of government provide equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal justice under the law.

What it reported doing in 2024

Project corazon - project corazon provides legal assistance and advocacy for asylum seekers. In 2024, we launched the nyc lgbtq+ asylum clinic to provide legal services to lgbtq+ asylum seekers. Through this clinic, we conducted 12 "know your rights" sessions, serving 318 asylum seekers. We assisted clients in submitting 58 work permit applications, achieving a 95% approval rate, and filed 19 change of venue and address requests, all of which were approved. We held our first in-person employment authorization document clinic, where 50 volunteers assisted 19 asylum seekers with work permit applications, 11 of which have been approved to date. These efforts provided asylum seekers with legal education, direct assistance, and access to essential resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 40%; rating input score 40
  • Program expense ratio: 66.3%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 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: 41.2%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.35; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 35.3% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 35.5% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 40% of revenue deployed · 66.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $323K · 9 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $513K reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.