Open Door Legal

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
453360280
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4157354124
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,865,167
Expenses
$6,428,125
Assets
$3,991,784
Liabilities
$1,376,913

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ADRIAN TIRTANADI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CORY MICKELS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • NIKKI LOVE (DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES): $160,658 total reported compensation
  • ADRIAN TIRTANADI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $160,421 total reported compensation
  • VICTORIA HARRIS (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $156,599 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Open door legal is pioneering the country's first system of universal access to civil legal representation. Our goal is to show through action, research, and data, that when everyone has access to the law, poverty will be dramatically reduced. As shown by our research, our model of universal access is scalable, sustainable, and the most cost-effective way to address poverty. Over the next few years we plan to expand citywide, making san francisco the first city in the country with universal access to legal services.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our core program directly represents residents of san francisco low-income communities of color in over 35 areas of the law. We aim to create the legal-equivalent of a general hospital, as the provider that ensures all residents have access to legal help. Our work changes hundreds of lives each year and we've documented a social return on investment (roi) of 1:21.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 60% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 6.4%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.1%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.2% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.3% of revenue deployed · 71.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $161K · 14 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.