The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270173338
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Richmond, VA, USA
Phone
8043345366
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Boards of Trade

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,165,718
Expenses
$5,979,323
Assets
$8,347,500
Liabilities
$2,409,461

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT J GREY JR (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT J GREY JR (PRESIDENT): $544,163 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER DENTON (EMPLOYEE): $316,000 total reported compensation
  • NICHOLE VELASQUEZ (EMPLOYEE): $141,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The lcld, inc. Is an organization of corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners dedicated to creating a legal profession as diverse as the country it serves.

What it reported doing in 2024

The lcld 1l scholars program offers first-year law students from diverse backgrounds a unique opportunity to engage in professional development and build lasting connections across the legal industry. Through career-focused programming, scholars gain valuable insights and support at a critical early stage in their professional journeys. In 2024, there were 607 1l scholars. In 2024, 461 early-career attorneys from lcld member organizations participated in the pathfinder program, a seven-month professional development experience focused on foundational leadership and relationship-building. The program offers participants the chance to learn from top legal leaders as well as experts in learning and development, equipping them with essential skills for career growth.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.6%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 94.1%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.4; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.8%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.6% of revenue deployed · 94.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $544K · 20 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $659K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 1/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.