Seattle Clemency Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812992437
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Kent, WA, USA
Phone
2066821114
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,189,678
Expenses
$1,672,288
Assets
$834,499
Liabilities
$15,475

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Musa Abdul-Mateen (Executive Director)
  • Joshua Howard (Board President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jennifer Pasquerella (Legal Director): $128,333 total reported compensation
  • Jeffrey Ellis (Resentencing Staff Attorney): $96,000 total reported compensation
  • Angela Powers (Operations / HR Manager): $83,333 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Seattle Clemency Project's mission is to increase access to justice for reformed individuals serving sentences that no longer serve a purpose and to prevent deportations that fracture communities. We do this by matching them with free, high-quality legal representation, afterward providing holistic re-entry and transistion support to promote their long-term success.

What it reported doing in 2024

Re-Entry and Mentoring Program: Re-Entry and Mentoring Program: The Reentry and Mentoring Program seeks to help each client heal and prosper by assisting in the creation of individualized reentry plans that include referrals to housing, employment, counseling, addiction treatment, training/education, and pro bono legal support. The program begins when the case is being prepared by pro bono layers to seek early release from prison and continues through release, ensuring each person has a solid support system throughout their transition back into the community. We provide individualized support upon reentry, connect clients with other organizations for targeted support needs and conduct twice monthly mentoring sessions that offer resources and training for participants. In 2024: 49 people received housing placements; 25 people received employment assistance; 33 people received transportation assistance; 22 people received communication assistance; 8 people received education assistance; 23 people received basic needs assistance; 5 people experienced family reunification.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 44.6%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 58.4%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 21st 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: 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.6%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 63.7%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 43.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.3% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 44.6% of revenue deployed · 58.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $976K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $128K · 26 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.