Tennessee Justice Center Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 621630417
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Nashville, TN, USA
- Phone
- 6152550331
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Legal Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,548,486
- Expenses
- $3,589,740
- Assets
- $10,834,100
- Liabilities
- $1,420,887
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
31 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Michele M Johnson (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Michele M Johnson (CEO): $198,100 total reported compensation
- Rob Watkins (COO): $148,847 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) advocates on behalf of low-income Tennesseans in areas of public policy having the greatest impact on their health and welfare.
What it reported doing in 2025
Health Advocacy for Seniors, Adults, Children and People with Disabilities - TJCs Medicaid, independence, and childrens health advocacy programs focus on improving the well-being of Tennesseans, particularly medically fragile, at-risk, and low-income seniors, adults, children, and people with disabilities. TJC helps these individuals obtain and maintain affordable health coverage and the ongoing home- and community-based support they need to bathe, dress, manage medications, and remain safely in their homes. The Independence program supports older adults and adults with disabilities who want to avoid unnecessary institutional care by helping families understand and use options for paid caregiving, private-duty nursing, and other long-term supports, and by challenging care cuts that threaten health and independence. The childrens health program helps low-income and medically fragile children get and keep coverage and services through TennCare and CoverKids, and helps families navigate applications, appeals, and coverage problems. In 2025, TJC handled 1,286 health-related cases, including 844 independence cases, and served families in 91 counties across Tennessee. TJC also educated the public, providers, and community leaders about TennCare, CoverKids, caregiving options, and proposed rule changes through in-person and virtual trainings, monthly briefings, and presentations across Tennessee.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 74.4%; rating input score 74
- Program expense ratio: 72.2%; rating input score 72
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 92.5%; rating input score 93; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- 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: -1.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.02; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 21.3% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 74.4% of revenue deployed · 72.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $198K · 31 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.