Nilc Immigrant Justice Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462030419
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2022160261
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Ethnic, Immigrant Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$412,874
Expenses
$752,383
Assets
$732,682
Liabilities
$676,133

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANGELICA MATOS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANGELICA MATOS (PRESIDENT): $369,220 total reported compensation
  • TASHA HARRIS (EVP OPERATIONS): $282,735 total reported compensation
  • VICTORIA BALLESTEROS (EVP NARRATIVE CHANGE): $275,133 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Established in 2013 as the 501(c)(4) affiliate of the national immigration law center (nilc), the nilc immigrant justice fund's (ijf) mission is focused on building immigrant power and advancing effective and fair immigration policy through civic engagement campaigns. The ijf relies on its extensive connections with advocacy groups nationwide, advocacy experience, expertise on issues that affect immigrants' daily lives, and distinctive use of policy, legal, and communications strategies to ensure that immigrants' rights advocates have a powerful impact on the shape and nature of immigration reform policies that come under consideration in congress and in states and localities across the country.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the reporting period, the nilc immigrant justice fund identified a need to counter prevailing, negative messages around the u.s./mexico border and immigrants, and educate elected officials about the important role immigrants play in u.s. Society. The ijf conducted a messaging research project targeting undecided voters to test various messages regarding immigrants and immigration issues to see which would be most appealing, finalized message guidance based on poll findings, circulated talking points about how to persuade key constituencies when talking about immigration policy to over 30 organizations, and conducted its first congressional scorecard on key issues affecting immigrants' lives, including daca, access to healthcare, and workers' rights.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 74.8%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -82.2%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.92; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.1%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $563K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $369K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $320K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.