Military Assistance Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454154294
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017, Form 990-EZ 2014, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2155573550
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Reported finances

Revenue
$108,421
Expenses
$96,595
Assets
$36,822
Liabilities
$504

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CECILIA M CARDESA-LUSARDI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CECILIA M CARDESA-LUSARDI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $48,470 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide pro bono legal services

What it reported doing in 2017

To provide pro bono legal services to military personnel and veterans experiencing financial difficulty.

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

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 the required major-donor schedule is missing or incomplete.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.4%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 60%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd 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: No; rating input score 0
  • 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: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 10.9%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 50.2%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -35.7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -12.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.9% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.4% of revenue deployed · 60% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $58K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2015 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.