New Hampshire Bar Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
020333762
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Concord, NH, US
Phone
(603) 224-6942
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,042,705
Expenses
$1,975,209
Assets
$5,940,556
Liabilities
$203,066

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH BLODGETT (ADJUNCT MEMBER): $123,931 total reported compensation
  • GEORGE MOORE ESQ (ADJUNCT MEMBER - OUTGOING): $108,121 total reported compensation
  • PAULA LEWIS (ADJUNCT MEMBER - OUTGOING): $106,197 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 ensure that access to justice is more than an ideal by supporting civics education for children and adults and by providing local programs and organizations with much-needed funds to do great work in our communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The New Hampshire bar foundation (foundation) was created to help bridge the justice gap by providing financial support to civil legal aid agencies for the purpose of providing free and low-cost representation to underserved New Hampshire communities. The main financial support the foundation provides is to civil legal aid organizations through the thoughtful stewardship of the interest on lawyer trust accounts (iolta) program. Interest earned on lawyer's trust accounts is granted each fiscal year to nh civil legal aid organizations to help tens of thousands of our most vulnerable citizens receive free or low-cost civil legal services. Iolta grants also fund educational programs that teach our youth and the public about the law and the justice system. By funding legal aid organizations, thousands of New Hampshire residents receive free or low-cost civil legal services every year. The nonprofit organizations we fund help the most vulnerable members in our communities. Additionally, the foundation supports educational programs that teach our youth and the public about the law and the justice system. New Hampshire bar foundation funding reaches deep into communities statewide to assist with educational programs, direct legal services, and charitable projects aimed at meeting the law-related needs of the public and the legal profession. Through the provision of legal aid, the foundation's work helps to prevent homelessness, protects women and children and improves court efficiency.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 90% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.1%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 93.9%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 35.1%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.01; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 63.1% of revenue deployed · 93.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $124K · 26 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 6 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.