Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201934881
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2026288164
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Military, Veterans' Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,977,476
Expenses
$5,185,167
Assets
$2,899,469
Liabilities
$2,608,880

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEPHEN W JORDON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • COURTNEY SMITH (Deputy Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHEN W JORDON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $239,877 total reported compensation
  • JAMES CARLSEN (DIRECTOR, Business operations): $209,770 total reported compensation
  • COURTNEY SMITH (Deputy Executive Director): $208,401 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 provide free legal assistance to appellants before the u.s. Court of appeals for veterans' claims and provide training and mentoring on veterans law to volunteer attorneys who provide this representation.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cavc program - this component screens cases of pro se (unrepresented) appellants before the u.s. Court of appeals for veterans claims (cavc) for merit and places cases with program trained volunteer attorneys. During the year, we trained 505 volunteer attorneys and continued to mentor them after case placement. The cavc sent appeals program information to 1905 potential veterans clients and screened 620 cases. Program outreach and educational materials such as "your appeal for veterans benefits" pamphlet, were produced and distributed. This component includes several sub-functions (case screening, case placement, litigation, a national hotline to assist unrepresented clients, outreach to veterans/dependents/survivors, and collaboration with law school clinic programs). The cavc program has a lifetime success rate of 88%.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 74% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 98
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.2%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: $108.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 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: -4.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.9; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.4%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $240K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $232K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.