Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services

Also known as Neighborhood Legal Services Mich

Detroit, MI · EIN 38-1818068 · 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

Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services reported $10.9 million in revenue and $11.0 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $87.97 went to program services, $12.03 to management and general costs and $0.00 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 99.4% of the total. Government grants made up 99.2%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $150,000 (EXECUTIVE DI). 1 person received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 45% between 2020 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.

Where $100 of spending went

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $11M

Program services$87.97 $9.7M
Management & general$12.03 $1.3M
Fundraising$0.00 $0

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 $11M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$0.19 $21,006
Government grants$99.20 $11M
Program service revenue$0.18 $19,675
Other revenue$0.43 $47,077

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)	88.0%	86.7%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	12.0%	11.1%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	0.0%	0.8%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.00	$0.01
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	99.4%	94.8%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	99.2%	50.1%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	0.2%	0.7%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$150,000	$245,814
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	1.36%	1.41%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	1	8
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	0.4	6.4
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	13 of 13	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

$7.7M expenses · 79.2% of program spending

Provided legal assistance to 1,128 qualified low income individuals and families that are in need of professional legal representation in domestic violence and victims of human trafficking, ssi and disability benefits, bankruptcy, divorce, landlord tenant and dui issues

$760K expenses · 7.8% of program spending

Provide housing advocacy and financial assistance to 644 households representing 1,283 homeless or near homeless individuals, families and veterans

$1.3M expenses · 13.0% of program spending

Child and law related education in 9 detroit public schools (dps) and beecher school district. Nlsm contract consultants taught over 1,300 students and parents in 15 various subjects selected by the school principals through federal title ii funding

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 DI Officer, 35.00 hrs/week	$150,000	$0	$0	$150,000

1 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services (Part VII, line 2).

5 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 ⓘ	$11M	$11M	88.0%	$367K	$150,000
2023 ⓘ	$9.3M	$9.0M	87.0%	$456K	$150,000
2022 (amended) ⓘ	$8.6M	$8.6M	89.1%	$131K	—
2021 (amended) ⓘ	$7.8M	$8.1M	87.4%	$247K	$116,806
2020 ⓘ	$7.5M	$7.4M	83.7%	$511K	$117,659

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–1b13 · 13 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aNo
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13No
Document retention policy Part VI 14No
Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aNo
Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aNo
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 4No
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 575

Private foundation grants it received

3 private foundations reported grants to Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services totaling $18,042 on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.

Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.

Correct a figure or respond

Every number above is copied from Wayne County Neighborhood 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 Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

Report a correction Respond as Wayne County Neighborhood Legal…How this works

Similar-sized charities in this cause

Center for Hope
Baltimore, MD · revenue $11M · programs 83.7% · FY2025
The Children's Law Center
Brooklyn, NY · revenue $11M · programs 87.1% · FY2025
Oregon Law Foundation
Portland, OR · revenue $11M · programs 93.2% · 2024
Advocates for Children of New York
New York, NY · revenue $11M · programs 80.8% · FY2025
Atlanta Downtown Improvement District
Atlanta, GA · revenue $11M · programs 92.2% · 2024

All crime & legal-related charities · Largest charities in Michigan

Questions people ask

How much of Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services's spending goes to programs?

In calendar year 2024, Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services reported that 88.0% of its $11.0 million in expenses went to program services, 12.0% to management and general and 0.0% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $150,000, for the role of EXECUTIVE DI (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services get its money?

Of $10.9 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 99.4% came from contributions and grants (including 99.2% from government grants) and 0.2% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 38-1818068 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 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 202513219349318421 · read the filing · XML
2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202413199349312441 · read the filing
2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022 (amended), object 202443209349306979 · read the filing
2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021 (amended), object 202433059349300523 · read the filing
2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202203189349316305 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 38-1818068: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.