Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310536673
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5132419400
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,081,435
Expenses
$11,603,037
Assets
$18,581,701
Liabilities
$1,287,920

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Alan S Fershtman (Attorney Trustee-President)
  • Mary P Burns (Attorney Trustee-1st Vice President)
  • Matthew Whitlow (Attorney Trustee-2nd Vice President)
  • Christine S Wheatley (Attorney Trustee-Immediate Past President)
  • Mary Asbury (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Mary Asbury (Executive Director): $256,967 total reported compensation
  • John Schrider (Director Affiliate LASSO): $220,859 total reported compensation
  • Elaine Fink (Managing Attorney): $193,952 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 resolve serious legal problems of low income people, to promote economic and family stability, and reduce poverty through effective legal assistance.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provided advice, information, referral and legal representation to approximately 5,000 low income individuals and families seeking help to establish eligibility for social security, SSI, veteran benefits, unemployment, Medicaid, food stamps, earned income tax credit, and other government benefits.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 89% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.3%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $54.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: 23.1%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.6; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.3% of revenue deployed · 84.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $9.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $257K · 40 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.