Lone Star Defefenders Office

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
883288945
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Lubbock, TX, USA
Phone
8062791274
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,444,465
Expenses
$13,228,183
Assets
$2,339,187
Liabilities
$2,201,953

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMRUTHA N JINDAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMRUTHA N JINDAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $181,795 total reported compensation
  • LILIA M MILETTI (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $127,252 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 serve as the indefense hub for criminal cases stemming from operation lone star a state of Texas border security initiative. The organization is responsible for overseeing the defense program assigning counsel to cases and providing support and resources to defense attorneys.

What it reported doing in 2024

To support indigent individuals arrested or charged under operation lone star the Texas governors border security initiative initiated on march 6 2021 the organization offers legal representation to eligible individuals by assigning counsel for their criminal cases in state court. Additionally the organization provides case support services such as investigation interpretation and mitigation services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 95.2%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.6%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.94; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -89.9% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 95.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $182K · 6 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $794K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.