Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
610668572
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Covington, KY, USA
Phone
8594318200
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,395,468
Expenses
$6,787,528
Assets
$6,112,545
Liabilities
$932,495

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • James Moore (President)
  • Nicole Sotiriou Bearse (Vice President)
  • Robert Johns (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Robert Johns (Executive Director): $194,819 total reported compensation
  • Karen Ginn (Advocacy Director): $155,048 total reported compensation
  • Brenda Combs (Operations Director): $113,166 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Legal Aid of the Bluegrass pursues justice and transforms lives through free, high-quality civil legal services for low-income and vulnerable people.

What it reported doing in 2025

We provide civil legal assistance at no charge to low-income families with children, the elderly, veterans and people needing access to healthcare. The people we serve often live with the risk of losing something be it their home, job, health, safety or independence. We target people living in violence, people with an impediment to family stabilization, those who cannot find stable employment and families at risk for homelessness. Through the legal system, we can preserve the home, protect assets, stop the violence, remove employment barriers, and support families towards the goal of achieving maximum independence and safety. Last year we reached over 46,818 people, advocated for nearly 10,289 and provided legal representation to 22,373. Private attorneys donated $822,000 in services to our clients. LEGAL AID OF THE BLUEGRASS (LABG) LABG completed a legal needs assessment in 2021 which found that the elderly and veterans are among the most vulnerable populations we serve. The assessment also found that family law continues to be one of the most highly ranked legal issues, including domestic/interpersonal violence protection orders. LABG Focused Reach 2025: LABG reached 46,818 of its target population through direct services or outreach. Our outreach advocacy efforts positively impacted 10,289 people. LABG legal staff & advocates provided direct legal representation and advice affecting 22,373 people. 10,289 families were provided direct legal services, affecting 14,032 adults and 8,341 children. LABG Clients: 47% are working poor 55% of working age families have children in the household 34% are poor elderly Of the above clients, LABG: - provided legal help to 497 veterans - promoted safety for 3,695 domestic violence survivors, including 2,008 children - stabilized housing for 433 families, affecting 1,010 people. TYPES OF LEGAL ISSUES ADDRESSED: - 24.79% Expungements - 17.31% Medicare and Medicaid Assistance/Other Health - 16.92% Housing - 12.00% Domestic Violence - 11.20% Family - 6.24% Consumer - 5.00% Life Planning Documents - 4.32% Public Benefits - 0.74% Employment - 0.37% Juvenile - 1.11% Other / Multiple Topics

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 90% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.2%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.9; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.2%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.5% of revenue deployed · 84.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $195K · 30 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $206K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.