Vecina

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842758709
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5129437678
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Crime, Legal Related N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$689,204
Expenses
$657,490
Assets
$501,402
Liabilities
$17,831

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Karen Crawford (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Maria Laura Arabbo (Exec Director): $97,866 total reported compensation
  • Alexandra Miller (Int Exec Dir): $79,690 total reported compensation
  • Karen Crawford (President): $1,120 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

VECINAs mission is to empower immigrant justice advocates through mentoring attorneys, educating communities, and mobilizing volunteers.

What it reported doing in 2025

Many attorneys are looking for ways to help but dont have the tools necessary to provide effective representation. VECINA provided expert mentors and training attorneys that equipped pro bono attorneys with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide zealous advocacy.Additionally, misinformation about immigrants and immigration law has become widespread and difficult to combat. VECINA provided community education at events and community meetings so that the truth can spread.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 62% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.6%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 76%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.2%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.6% of revenue deployed · 76% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $500K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.