Western New York Law Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161497552
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone
7168550203
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Interest Law

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,956,428
Expenses
$4,753,687
Assets
$1,894,516
Liabilities
$1,050,945

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Catherine Creighton (President)
  • Marshall Betram (Vice-President)
  • Karen Welch (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Karen Welch (Executive Director): $149,751 total reported compensation
  • Matthew Parham (Director of Litigation and Advocacy): $132,046 total reported compensation
  • Neha Karambelkar (Managing Attorney, Civil Unit): $112,403 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Western New York Law Center, Inc. (WNYLC) is a nonprofit legal services provider. Founded in 1996, WNYLC's mission is to provide civil legal services to individuals and communities with limited access to legal representation. In furtherance of that mission, WNYLC provides direct legal assistance, legal education, and policy advocacy in areas where legal needs are unmet or underserved. WNYLC also supports legal services providers statewide by promoting effective, affordable use of technology to improve service delivery and expand access to justice.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 84% 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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.7%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $71.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 14th 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; 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: 4.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.4; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.55; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.7% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $150K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.