Western Kentucky Federal Community Defender Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 611272294
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Louisville, KY, USA
- Phone
- 5025840525
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Administration of Justice, Courts
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,505,775
- Expenses
- $3,541,508
- Assets
- $537,472
- Liabilities
- $537,472
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Scott T Wendelsdorf (Executive Director)
- Patrick Renn (President)
- Katherine Crosby (Vice-President)
Highest reported compensation
- Patrick J Bouldin (Assistant Federal Defender): $237,867 total reported compensation
- Chastity R Beyl (Assistant Federal Defender): $236,772 total reported compensation
- Aaron M Dyke (Assistant Federal Defender): $236,400 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Western Kentucky Federal Community Defender, Inc. is the designated Federal Defender Organization for the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3006A(g)(B). The Organization is a 501(c)(3) non profit corporation incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and is dedicated to providing high quality legal services for indigent persons. Founded in 1995, the Organization is federally funded through an annual grant from the Administrative Offices of the United States Courts. These federal funds are provided solely for the purpose of rendering federal criminal defense services to individuals who are unable to afford counsel and who are under investigation for, or charged with, violations of the laws of the United States.
What it reported doing in 2024
Criminal defense legal services to indigent persons charged with federal crimes in the Western District of Kentucky.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 100% 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 16
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 87.2%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- 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 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 45.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 87.2% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $238K · 19 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.