The Legal Clinic

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822821392
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Honolulu, HI, USA
Phone
8087777071
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,247,146
Expenses
$1,112,748
Assets
$1,314,709
Liabilities
$199,006

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BETTINA MOK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • COREY PARK JD (PRESIDENT)
  • LOWELL CHUN-HOON ESQ (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • BETTINA MOK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $102,618 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To ensure justice for low-income immigrants and migrants in Hawaii, through high-quality immigration legal services, education and advocacy.

What it reported doing in 2024

TLC led or participated in over 20 outreach and educational events across the state, including four webinars with the City & County of Honolulus Office of Economic Revitalization with information specific to the COFA community, which logged over 9,000 combined views, and In-person Know Your Rights (KYR) presentations and tabling at community events on Oahu, Hawaii Island and Maui. TLC co-hosted a continuing legal education (CLE) course entitled Defending Immigrants in Hawaiis Criminal Courts, educating 63 attorneys-including public defenders from across the state-in this highly specialized area of law, with the hope of preventing unnecessary deportations. As a result of attending the course, staff from The Office of the Public Defender contacted TLC to request statewide staff training for their attorneys.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.5%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 66.7%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th 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: 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: 10.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.18; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.5% of revenue deployed · 66.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $743K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $103K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.