An EIN is a unique nine-digit number that identifies a business for tax purposes.
An EIN is a unique nine-digit number that identifies a business for tax purposes.
Organization Mission
To increase access to justice for New Mexicans. EAJ helps meet the critical legal needs of low-income families by providing unrestricted, noncompetitive funds to c ... (More)
Rating Information
Great
This charity's score is 98%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
Charity Navigator's ratings previously did not consider Leadership & Adaptability, Culture & Community, or Impact & Measurement. The historic rating mainly reflects a version of today’s Accountability and Finance score. More information on our previous rating methodologies can be found on our rating methodology page.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
Majority Independent Board Members - 100% independent members
10 out of 10 points
Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. We check to see that a majority of board members are identified as independent on their tax form.
Source: IRS Form 990
Independent Board Size - 9 independent members
10 out of 10 points
Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. For most organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least three independent board members. For large, donor-funded organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least five independent board members
Source: IRS Form 990
Material Diversion of Assets - None
10 out of 10 points
A diversion of assets — any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft — also can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We review the charity's most recent IRS Form 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets.
Source: IRS Form 990
Tax Form Disclosures and Policies
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Website Listed on Tax Form - Listed
3 out of 3 points
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
Conflict of Interest Policy - Listed
7 out of 7 points
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Whistleblower Policy - Listed
7 out of 7 points
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Document Retention and Destruction - Listed
7 out of 7 points
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Documents Board Meeting Minutes - Yes
3 out of 3 points
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the IRS Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
Website Disclosures
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Tax Form Posted on Nonprofit's Website as stated on Form 990 - Listed
3 out of 3 points
For almost all charities, we check the charity's IRS Form 990 to see if it discloses that the Form 990 is available on the charity's website. As with the audited financial statement, donors need easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well.
Source: IRS Form 990
Financial Metrics
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Liabilities to Assets: Ratio - 1.13%
15 out of 15 points
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent IRS Form 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization's solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense: Ratio - 80.73%
25 out of 25 points
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three IRS Forms 990). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
Source: IRS Form 990
Additional Information
Total Revenue and Expenses - Data Available
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Click or hover over the bar to see exact $ amount
Salary of Key Persons - Data Available
Presented here are up to five of this organization's highest compensated employees. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Heather Norfleet, Executive Director
$49,667
M Karen Kilgore, President
$0
Charles K Purcell, Vice President
$0
Susan Miller, Treasurer
$0
Sonya Bellafant, Director
$0
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2024
IRS Published Data (Business Master File) - Data Available
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
Data Sources (IRS Forms 990) - Data Available
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage accountability and finance data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Equal Access to Justice Inc.) or EIN (850437183) in the 'Search Term' field.
Impact & Measurement
Not Currently Scored
Equal Access to Justice Inc. cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Measurement methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Equity Strategies™ - Number of Data, Policies & Processes
75 out of 100 points
This organization's score of 75 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is currently only implementing 2 Equity Practices.
The Equity Strategies™ checklist, developed by Equity in the Center™, consists of data, policies & processess that promote racial equity in operations and programs. The Equity Strategies™ were developed by Equity In The Center®, and collected in partnership with Candid.
Equity Data (0/7)
The organization did not respond to this question.
Equity Policies & Processes (2/7)
We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission.
To increase access to justice for New Mexicans. EAJ helps meet the critical legal needs of low-income families by providing unrestricted, noncompetitive funds to civil legal aid organizations. Our work helps ensure that New Mexicans are not denied justice dues to an inability to afford it.
Vision Statement
10 out of 10 points
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's vision.
That all New Mexicans, regardless of their ability to pay, can access essential civil legal services
Strategic Goals
20 out of 20 points
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: To help meet the unprecedented need for civil legal services, we will increase our annual campaign goal from $250,000 to $275,000. (Last year we increased our goal by 56% and exceeded it by 9%.)
Goal Two: To increase our impact and better meet the needs of our civil legal aid partners, the Double the Power of Justice Initiative is being launched, with a five-year goal to sustainably raise $500,000/year
Goal Three: Continued legal aid advocacy for low-income New Mexicans disproportionately impacted by the pandemic & natural disasters, grappling with challenges to their livelihoods, health, & safety.
Leadership
30 out of 30 points
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Investment in Leadership Development
15 out of 15 points
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development.
Professional Development is included in our annual budget, supporting the executive director through access to industry conferences, trainings, and webinars. Additionally, the executive director regularly meets with mentors and professional peers for further support.
External Focus on Mobilizing Mission
15 out of 15 points
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Collaborative Engagement
Thought Leadership
Social Promotion
Adaptability
30 out of 30 points
Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Adaptability Statement
30 out of 30 points
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
This past year, to help meet the unprecedented need for civil legal services, we committed to increasing our 2021/22 campaign goal by 56%. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our volunteer campaign committee, and the generosity of our community, this goal was exceeded by 9%. Equal Access to Justice's most recent Annual Report expands on this and can be viewed at: www.eaj-nm.org. Additionally, our most recent 990 may be viewed in our "Financials and Annual Reports" tab of our website ("https://www.eaj-nm.org/financials--annual-reports.html.) The impact of our work is regularly shared on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/EqualAccesstoJustice) and via monthly newsletters.