Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
910893596
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone
2532728871
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$687,857
Expenses
$631,370
Assets
$336,843
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Elizabeth Ann Johnson (President)
  • Nina Caldwell (President elect)
  • Catherine Case (Immediate Past President)
  • Brenna Quinlan (YLS - President)
  • Joe Loran (Family Law section - President)
  • Kit Kasner (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Elizabeth Ann Johnson (President)
  • Nina Caldwell (President elect)
  • Laura Groves (Secretary-Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The general purposes of operating a trade association of attorneys, and its mission is to serve the members of the Pierce County community by promoting professionalism, community service, and collegiality among lawyers and improving access to justice.

What it reported doing in 2025

Held Conferences, seminars and meetings to bring members together to inform, update, educate, and promote the administration of justice; to provide education and information; to discusslegal issues; and to serve the members of the Tacoma Pierce County Community by promoting professionalism, community service, and collegiality among lawyers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 69% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.2%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.8% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $631K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.