South Carolina Women Lawyers Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570977199
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Columbia, SC, USA
Phone
8034471141
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$89,312
Expenses
$72,532
Assets
$103,184
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Bhumi Amit Patel (Immediate Past President)
  • Hon Allyce R Bailey (President)
  • Jenny E Desch (President Elect)
  • Melinda Lindler (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Melinda Lindler (Executive Director): $27,788 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To enhance the status, influence and effectiveness of women lawyers in the state of sc. Scwla will, through advocacy, action, and association, ensure that women lawyers achieve their fair share of opportunities and benefits available to those in the legal profession.

What it reported doing in 2025

Scwla provides member mentoring, networking, meetings for local members, legal education seminars, and other programs useful for women lawyers in South Carolina. Scwla sponsors an annual award for an outstanding woman lawyer called the bissell award and hosts a reception in honor of the recipient. The regional groups organize their own events, including regular luncheons with speakers. For instance, the midlands region hosts monthly luncheon meetings where attendance is from 30 to 80 members and guests.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.8%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.42; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 38.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.9% per year; rating input score 0; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $28K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.