The National Center for Law and Policy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208925383
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Escondido, CA, USA
Phone
7607474529
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Liberties

Reported finances

Revenue
$554,732
Expenses
$334,305
Assets
$511,807
Liabilities
$5,224

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dean Broyles (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dean Broyles (President): $220,938 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

NCLP is a legal defense organization which focuses on the protection and promotion of religious freedom, the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, parental rights, and other civil liberties engages in constitutional litigation in state and federal courts also active in the areas of public policy and education.

What it reported doing in 2024

Leveraged significant settlement in religious accommodation vaccine booster mandate case on the eve of trial The NCLP has successfully represented many faithful pandemic front line healthcare heroes, including registered nurse Keitha Giannella, who used to work at Sharp Grossmont Hospital before she was indefinitely suspended because of her sincerely held religious objections to the vaccine boosters. During the Giannella v. Sharp Healthcare lawsuit, Sharp fought tooth and nail to hide and conceal relevant information and avoid turning over documents during discovery, in what turned into an epic to year running legal battle. However, Sharp ultimately waived the white flag and settled, shortly after a failed judicial settlement conference, on the eve of trial in August of 2024. Earlier in the summer of 2024, the NCLP also settled Stahovich v. Sharp Healthcare for 175,000.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 50.3%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 39.7%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.53; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 66.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 40.2% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 50.3% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $297K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $221K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.