Funding Florida Legal Aid (FFLA)

Legal name: The Florida Bar Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
591004604
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Maitland, FL, United States
Phone
407-960-7000
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$272,653,805
Expenses
$97,663,494
Assets
$523,297,088
Liabilities
$1,562,073

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

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERTO R PARDO ESQ (PRESIDENT)
  • ASHLEY N SYBESMA ESQ (PRESIDENT - ELECT)
  • MARIA C GONZALEZ ESQ (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • HON HUGH A CARITHERS JR (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MURRAY B SILVERSTEIN ESQ (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • DOMINIC C MACKENZIE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DOMINIC C MACKENZIE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO): $220,984 total reported compensation
  • LUSHAWN PHILLIPS (IOTA PROGRAM DIRECTOR): $111,501 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

FFLA Mission To increase access to the justice system for people of limited means, FFLA funds legal services, develops innovative tools and programs, and supports legal aid providers and the courts. To increase access to the justice system for people of limited means, FFLA funds legal services, develops innovative tools and programs, and supports legal aid providers and the courts. Donate FFLA accomplishes its mission through grant programs and initiatives that:.

What it reported doing in 2024

Legal assistance for the poor: in 2024-2025, approved grant awards included children's legal services, iota distributions and the loan repayment assistance program (lrap). Children's legal services grantees assist needy children in critical areas that affect their safety, well-being and future development. Iota distributions support grantees' efforts to increase access to Florida's justice system and/or to promote pro bono public service by qualified legal providers through the provision or facilitation of free direct legal services to low-income clients. Through lrap, student loans were forgiven for 136 attorneys at legal aid organizations, strengthening and expanding legal assistance for the poor by supporting the recruitment and retention of the most qualified civil legal aid staff attorneys.other 2024-2025 projects included: 1) coordinating and partially subsidizing online legal research services to legal assistance grantees at a significantly reduced rate, with the foundation facilitating centralized billing for a statewide contract with international legal research firm reuters thomson/westlaw; and 2) continued partial subsidies to grantees for an online case management system (legal server) funded and implemented by the foundation in 2008 to improve the administration of day-to-day casework and related activities of their lawyers and paralegals. This case management system provides grantees the data and communication needed to manage cases, track outcomes, and report to funding sources. The foundation's statewide contract with legal server effectively reduces the cost to grantees and makes the service available to some who could not otherwise afford a computerized case management system.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 99% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 93
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.6%; rating input score 38
  • Program expense ratio: 97.5%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,421.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 64.2%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.36; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.3%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 28.4% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 37.6% of revenue deployed · 97.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 32 of 32 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $95.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $221K · 34 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 39 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 38 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 38/100.