The Bar Association of Lehigh County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237059977
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Allentown, PA, USA
Phone
6104336204
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$843,716
Expenses
$921,132
Assets
$536,317
Liabilities
$365,902

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NANCY CONRAD (PRESIDENT-EL)
  • MARK CROSSLEY (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RAY BRIDGEMAN (EXECUTIVE DI): $114,164 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Association- provide services to members which include seminars and education, provide the public with advice as to appropriate legal counsel.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lawyer referral program - provides assistance to the general public in need of legal assistance by informing them of all legal counsel in the lehigh valley area.

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 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.

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: 44
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.3%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 46%; rating input score 46
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -9.2%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.58; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.68; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.3% of revenue deployed · 46% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $423K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $114K · 28 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.