Volunteer Lawyers for Justice In

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300528128
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Newark, NJ, USA
Phone
9732334173
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,763,817
Expenses
$2,597,050
Assets
$3,706,423
Liabilities
$337,198

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

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CATHERINE KEENAN Esq (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CATHERINE KEENAN Esq (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $180,703 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA KITSON (DIR OF ADVOCACY): $121,893 total reported compensation
  • DIANA L ONUSCHAK (DIRECTOR OF ADMIN): $110,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, Inc. ("VLJ"/ the Organization), a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of New Jersey, is a comprehensive, statewide legal services program based in Newark. VLJ's mission is to ensure access to justice for people experiencing poverty. VLJ fulfills its mission by mobilizing volunteers to work alongside staff to address critical legal needs across New Jersey, advancing racial, social, and economic justice for the most vulnerable members of our community. Created in 2001 by a small group of advocates concerned about the scarcity of free legal services for people experiencing poverty, VLJ has grown significantly from one to twenty-one staff people and a handful of volunteers to a volunteer panel with more than 1,500 volunteers.

What it reported doing in 2024

VLJ currently operates a number of distinct legal programs in the areas ofbankruptcy, family, consumer, education, criminal reentry, veterans issues, tenancy and trafficking victims issues. Those programs include legal counsel and advice clinics, educational or "know your rights" seminars, and direct representation of clients by VLJ staff and volunteer attorneys who are trained, recruited and mentored by VLJ. VLJs programs have garnered several awards including the NJ State Governors Jefferson Award for Public Service, New Jersey State Bar Association's Pro Bono Award, "The Community Builder Award" from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, and the Bernard Kuttner Award from the Essex County Bar Association.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.6%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 75.2%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 31%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.43; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.6%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58.6% of revenue deployed · 75.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $181K · 34 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.