Washington Appellate Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911629971
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2065872711
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,761,259
Expenses
$3,391,983
Assets
$1,517,511
Liabilities
$150,497

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON SAUNDERS (PRESIDENT)
  • VICKI BOYD (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • GREGORY C LINK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • GREGORY C LINK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $166,301 total reported compensation
  • NANCY COLLINS (SUPERVISING ATTORNEY): $154,240 total reported compensation
  • RICHARD LECHICH (ATTORNEY): $133,512 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Washington appellate project contracts with the state of Washington and the federal government to provide legal representation to indigent persons on appeal.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Washington appellate project provides legal representation pursuant to constitutional and statutory mandates to indigent persons in the state and federal appellate courts by appointment from designated governmental administrators. We provide legal counsel and vigorous representation in the appellate review of criminal convictions, dependent child proceedings, parental rights terminations, and involuntary civil commitments. This requires our staff to foster relationships with our clients, review trial court records, conduct legal research, prepare appropriate legal pleadings and advocate on behalf of clients in various forums. In 2024, the Washington appellate project represented approximately 700 clients. The number of clients served has returned to pre-pandemic levels. The organization continues its commitment to providing access to equal justice for all people, no matter their economic status, the project's staff continued to provide training at the local, state, and national levels. The project's work continued to set standards for appellate practice and advocacy for indigent individuals in the legal system. We regularly consult with and advise public defense administrators regarding best practices. The organization's staff regularly engages with government and community leaders to increase awareness about the legal challenges facing indigent people and their right to effective representation on appeal. In 2024, staff continued to provide support nationally to court systems and legislatures seeking rule changes to limit racism in jury selection. The organization began a program to provide trainings and support to attorneys addressing racism in legal proceedings. Staff organized and provided local and national training to others involved in delivery of legal services to indigent populations. Staff served on and chaired committees tasked with ensuring and improving quality public defense services across the state of Washington. Staff participated in task forces and committees addressing criminal sentencing reform and the drafting of model court instructions. The project continued to support an internship program to train law students in appellate representation and to provide avenues into the field for students of diverse backgrounds.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.8%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 24.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.3% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $166K · 15 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.