The Lawyers' Campaign for Equal Justice

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
931193792
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032958442
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,868,135
Expenses
$1,885,474
Assets
$4,275,656
Liabilities
$1,462,340

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DENISE NICOLE GORRELL (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • KEIL M MUELLER (BOARD VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KATHRYN OLNEY (BOARD PAST PRESIDENT)
  • AYLA ERCIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AYLA ERCIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $124,481 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 lawyers' campaign for equal justice works to increase civil access to justice for low-income oregonians by increasing resources for Oregon's statewide legal aid programs.

What it reported doing in 2025

Other funding initiatives: the campaign seeks to expand resources for legal aid programs through foundation support and state and federal funding. The campaign reaches out to foundations for grant funding and assists with grassroots support for state and federal funding. The accompanying form 990 does not reflect the increases in state and federal funding and foundation support that have resulted from the broader fundraising initiatives and efforts of the campaign and its volunteers on behalf of Oregon's legal aid programs. These additional receipts do not flow through the campaign's financial statements and have been recorded directly by the nonprofit organizations benefited.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 78% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.6%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 74.4%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.9%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.27; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.6%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.6% of revenue deployed · 74.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $124K · 23 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $128K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.