Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411902274
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6517724241
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$668,171
Expenses
$568,556
Assets
$323,407
Liabilities
$28,221

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEVIN LINDSEY (President)
  • DANA MITCHELL (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • AMANDA MATCHETT (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • AISHA RICHARDSON (Executive Dir.): $72,000 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 provide support & collegial engagement between & with african american lawyers located in Minnesota

What it reported doing in 2024

During FY24/25, the MABL Foundation hosted the Annual MABL Gala, which celebrated the achievements of Black lawyers & judges in Minnesota, recognized scholarship recipients & fostered professional networking among attorneys, students & community partners. They launched the MABL Pathways Program, an innovative 10-week academic & professional development initiative supporting undergraduate Black Minnesotan students aspiring to attend law school. 36 Scholars participated in Cohort 1 of the program & 12 across 2 cohorts (Immersive Learning and LSAT Prep). The program included classroom instruction, mentorship, law firm visits & workshops in partnership with the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Humanities Center & practicing attorneys and judges. Pathways Scholars also engaged in community service, networking events & sessions designed to strengthen leadership & readiness for legal education. Together, these initiatives advanced MABL Foundation's mission to increase representation & equity in Minnesotas legal profession while supporting the next generation of Black lawyers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 80% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 67% for direct work, and 33% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.4%; rating input score 96; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.9%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.6% of revenue deployed · 91.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $518K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.