Brooklyn Legal Services

New York, NY · EIN 13-2605605 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for calendar year 2024 (tax year 2024) · View the filing · Correct or respond

Brooklyn Legal Services reported $32.3 million in revenue and $32.2 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $84.01 went to program services, $15.00 to management and general costs and $0.99 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was program service revenue such as fees, sales and contracts: 74.7% of the total. Government grants made up 22.4%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $296,014 (EXECUTIVE DIR., LSNYC (THRU 6/28/24)). 60 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 34% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.

Where $100 of spending went

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $32M

Program services$84.01 $27M
Management & general$15.00 $4.8M
Fundraising$0.99 $319K

For context, the median across 274 covered crime & legal-related charities: $87.85 programs, $11.30 management, $0.85 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).

Where $100 of revenue came from

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $32M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$2.88 $930K
Government grants$22.43 $7.2M
Program service revenue$74.69 $24M
Investment income$0.00 $24

Other revenue was negative: −$13,068. The bar shows the positive sources only.

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

2024 filing. Median across 274 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	2024	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	84.0%	86.7%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	15.0%	11.1%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	1.0%	0.8%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.04	$0.01
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	25.3%	94.8%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	22.4%	50.1%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	74.7%	0.7%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$296,014	$245,814
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	0.92%	1.41%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	60	8
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	0.3	6.4
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	19 of 19	100.0%

A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.

What the money paid for, in its own words

2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$16M expenses · 60.1% of program spending · grants $200K · revenue $14M

Housing assistance - we fight tenant harassment, preserve affordable housing, and defend clients in eviction proceedings. We also help tenants pursue rent overcharge claims and actions to improve housing conditions, all of which keep tenants from living in unsafe conditions and becoming homeless

$5.0M expenses · 18.5% of program spending · revenue $4.5M

Other - we represent people in other civil legal matters, such as consumer, immigration and employment matters. In the consumer area, we defend individuals being sued in debt collection cases and enforce people's right to fair debt collection. Our immigration practice focuses on adjustment of status, naturalization replacements. In the employment arena, we help people get wages to which they are entitled and defend people's employment rights. We also help client groups assert their rights to habitable homes, decent schools and nondiscriminatory housing

$4.3M expenses · 15.9% of program spending · revenue $3.8M

Income maintenance - we help people access and retain government benefits. Through our income security and benefits work, we assist clients when government benefits are wrongfully denied, inaccurately calculated, or improperly terminated; and we represent families and individuals for whom unemployment insurance, food stamps, medicaid/medicare and other public assistance and safety net programs constitute critical lifelines

$1.5M all other programs (line 4d)

Highest reported compensation

2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here

Role	From this org	From related orgs	Other	Total
EXECUTIVE DIR., LSNYC (THRU 6/28/24) Officer, 1.00 hrs/week	$0	$278,164	$17,850	$296,014
PROJECT DIRECTOR Key employee, 35.00 hrs/week	$218,054	$0	$49,936	$267,990
DIRECTOR, WRBU Highest compensated employee, 35.00 hrs/week	$165,175	$0	$43,138	$208,313
DIRECTOR, ELDER LAW/VJP Highest compensated employee, 35.00 hrs/week	$164,511	$0	$41,958	$206,469
DIRECTOR, HOUSING RIGHTS Highest compensated employee, 35.00 hrs/week	$163,464	$0	$42,256	$205,720
DIRECTOR OF LITIGATION Highest compensated employee, 35.00 hrs/week	$173,088	$0	$30,116	$203,204
UNIT DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 35.00 hrs/week	$174,389	$0	$12,835	$187,224
EXECUTIVE DIR., LSNYC (AS OF 6/17/24) Officer, 1.00 hrs/week	$0	$161,447	$12,220	$173,667

60 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Brooklyn Legal Services (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $268K (Part IX, line 5).

6 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
2024 ⓘ	$32M	$32M	84.0%	$894K	$296,014
2023 ⓘ	$29M	$29M	88.8%	$858K	$281,734
2022 ⓘ	$27M	$28M	87.3%	$959K	$264,212
2021 ⓘ	$26M	$26M	90.5%	$1.6M	$263,612
2020 ⓘ	$24M	$25M	87.8%	$2.2M	$250,334
2019 ⓘ	$24M	$24M	89.9%	$2.9M	$240,186

Governance answers, as filed

2024 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means

Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b19 · 19 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
Employees Part I, line 5189
Volunteers Part I, line 626

Correct a figure or respond

Every number above is copied from Brooklyn Legal Services's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Brooklyn Legal Services, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

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Similar-sized charities in this cause

Choices Behavioral Health CARE
Toledo, OH · revenue $32M · programs 97.5% · 2025
Legal Services Corp of Virginia
Richmond, VA · revenue $33M · programs 99.0% · FY2025
America First Legal Foundation
Washington, DC · revenue $32M · programs 82.7% · 2024
California Rural Legal Assistance
Modesto, CA · revenue $33M · programs 75.2% · 2024
Queens Law Associates Not-For-Profit Corporation
Forest Hills, NY · revenue $32M · programs 86.5% · FY2025

All crime & legal-related charities · Largest charities in New York

Questions people ask

How much of Brooklyn Legal Services's spending goes to programs?

In calendar year 2024, Brooklyn Legal Services reported that 84.0% of its $32.2 million in expenses went to program services, 15.0% to management and general and 1.0% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Brooklyn Legal Services pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Brooklyn Legal Services reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $296,014, for the role of EXECUTIVE DIR., LSNYC (THRU 6/28/24) (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Brooklyn Legal Services get its money?

Of $32.3 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 25.3% came from contributions and grants (including 22.4% from government grants) and 74.7% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Brooklyn Legal Services a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 13-2605605 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.

Sources

2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202513189349311931 · read the filing · XML
2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202443209349314464 · read the filing
2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202333189349317373 · read the filing
2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202213169349301426 · read the filing
2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202103569349300740 · read the filing
2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202003189349312060 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 13-2605605: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.