Trial Defenders United Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 932505698
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Clearwater, FL, USA
- Phone
- 7278552035
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $221,169
- Expenses
- $191,248
- Assets
- $14,283
- Liabilities
- $-30,000
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
2 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jennifer Strouf (Co-Executive Director/Trial Attorney)
- Maria Castagliuolo (Co-Executive Director/Trial Attorney)
Highest reported compensation
- Jennifer Strouf (Co-Executive Director/Trial Attorney): $24,750 total reported compensation
- Maria Castagliuolo (Co-Executive Director/Trial Attorney): $24,750 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Trial Defender's United, Inc.'s mission is to deliver exceptional legal representation for indigent individuals at the trial level through direct representation of court-appointed clients. We also endeavor to educate and support fellow Court-appointed attorneys by providing continuing legal education and collaborative case conferencing. We are committed to ensuring that every person, regardless of their financial circumstances, receives high-quality legal representation and a fair trial. By employing a multi-faceted approach that combines zealous advocacy, knowledge-sharing, and cooperative partnerships, we strive to uphold the principles of justice, address bias, protect individual rights, and promote a more equitable criminal justice system.
What it reported doing in 2024
Traveled to Tallahassee to educate state legislators on different bills that would impact indigent defendants and to advocate for better funding for indigent defense. This was education and advocacy; not lobbying. This was part of the co-directors general duties and did not cost any additional funds. There was no direct revenue from this as it generally advanced the cause of indigent defense.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 98% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.5%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 13.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.07; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 25.9%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 86.5% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $191K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $25K · 2 people listed
- Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.