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Equal Justice America Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Equal Justice America Inc

Equal justice america provides grants to legal aid and civil rights organizations serving low-income and disadvantaged people by funding fellowships for law students and early-career lawyers.

$705k
Granted FY2025still arriving
25
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$232k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Crime & Legal$4.3MCivil Rights$44kHuman Services$7kArts & Culture$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k12 grants · $80k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $145k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $479k
$10,106
Median grant
12
States reached
$265k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OTHERS UNDER 5000$232,110
LEGAL AID CHICAGO$116,814
LEGAL AID OF NORTH CAROLINA$65,004
EAST BAY COMMUNITY LAW CENTER$64,996
GREATER BOSTON LEGAL SERVICES$33,268
EJA DISABILITY LAW CLINIC$26,004
THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY$16,774
NEW HAVEN LEGAL ASSISTANCE$15,000
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL$11,527
TEXAS RIOGRANDE LEGAL AID$11,182
NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM$10,826
NEW YORK LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP$10,738
LEGAL AID OF WEST VIRGINIA$10,106
OPEN DOOR LEGAL$9,888
LEGAL AID FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES$7,802
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY19–23, $237k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CHILD CARE LAW CENTER: $6k → 10%CATHOLIC CHARITIES GALVESTON: $7k → 16%LEGAL AID CHICAGO: $25k → 14%CATHOLIC CHARITIES GALVESTON: $6k → 16%LEGAL AID CHICAGO: $24k → 14%AYUDA: $81k → 14%AYUDA: $65k → 14%AYUDA: $11k → 14%AYUDA: $6k → 14%QUALITY TRUST INDIVIDUAL W DISABIL: $7k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

NH
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
PA
CT
CA
WV
VA
MD
NC
DC
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.2M · 29 repeat orgs$357k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +36% for those funded once.

29 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

29
23

Total granted

$4.2M
$308k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+36%

Still filing today

93%
91%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $48k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Crime & LegalHuman ServicesCivil RightsEducationInternationalCommunity ImprovementOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • EB
    EAST BAY COMMUNITY LAW CENTER
    7× · 2019–2025 · $530k · revenue +4%
  • LA
    LEGAL AID CHICAGO
    6× · 2019–2025 · $445k · revenue +79%
  • GB
    GREATER BOSTON LEGAL SERVICES INC
    7× · 2019–2025 · $396k · revenue +78%

Funded once

  • OL
    OTHER LEGAL GRANTS LESS THAN 5000
    one grant, 2019 · $90k
  • AG
    ADDL GRANTS PD AWARDED PRIOR YEAR
    one grant, 2019 · $73k
  • Cornell University
    one grant, 2022 · $15k · revenue +15%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area

As one of the most enduring civil rights institutions on the West Coast, we work to dismantle systems of oppression and racism, and build an equitable and just society.

—
2
Community Legal Aid Socal

Community legal aid socal provides compassionate, holistic, and impactful legal services to residents of los angeles and orange counties who need help with housing, family law, healthcare access and other areas of law.

Crime & Legal
3
Afl-Cio Union Lawyers Alliance

Afl-cio union lawyers alliance was established to better the conditions of working men and women and their families by enhancing the quality of legal representation that is available to the afl-cio and the national and international unions…

—
4
Legal Action Center of the City of New York Inc

The legal action center (lac) uses legal policy strategies to fight discrimination, build health equity, and restore opportunity for people with arrest and conviction records, substance use disorders, and hiv or aids.

Crime & Legal
5
The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Inc

The legal aid society of northeastern new york fights for fairness, dignity, and justice for those living in poverty and for a society which is inclusive and equitable for all. we transform lives, build community and empower people by…

Crime & Legal
6
Civil Liberties Defense Center

CIVIL LIBERTIES DEFENSE CENTER (CLDC) educates the general public about their rights and privileges under the US Constitution and provides free legal support to climate and social justice activists.

Civil Rights
7
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
8
Equal Justice Center

The Equal Justice Center is a non-profit law firm and employment justice organization which empowers low-income families, workers, and communities to achieve fair treatment in the workplace, in the justice system, and in our shared society…

Civil Rights
9
Brooklyn Legal Services Inc

Brooklyn legal services, inc is a not-for-profit corporation organized for the purpose of providing legal assistance to indigent persons in the new york city area in noncriminal proceedings or matters.

Crime & Legal
10
Central Jersey Legal Services Inc

Provides free legal assistance in non-criminal proceedings or matters to persons financially unable to afford legal assistance in mercer county, middlesex county, and union county, new jersey

Crime & Legal
11
Connecticut Legal Services Inc

Connecticut legal services provides access to justice and protects critical civil legal rights of low income individuals and families through representation, systemic advocacy, advice, collaboration, and education.

Crime & Legal
12
Inner City Law Center

In 2024, Inner City Law Center, ICLC, served over 3,400 people, helping vulnerable Angelenos to remain in their homes and recover nearly $20.5 million in financial benefits.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia; the most unlike its peers is Cornell University. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

54 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 54 of the 58 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
54/54
Grantees still filing
43/54
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OTHERS UNDER 5000: $1,102,820 · OtherOTHERS UNDER 5000GREATER BOSTON LEGAL SERVICES INC: $395,942 · OtherGREATER BOSTON LEGAL SERVICES INCNEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM OF DC: $141,667 · OtherNEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM OF DCOTHER LEGAL GRANTS LESS THAN 5000: $89,956 · OtherLEGAL AID SOCIETY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: $82,911 · OtherADDL GRANTS PD AWARDED PRIOR YEAR: $72,882 · Other+12 more: $222,348 · Other+12 moreEAST BAY COMMUNITY LAW CENTER: $529,641 · Crime & LegalEAST BAY COMMUNITY LAW CENTERLEGAL AID CHICAGO: $444,734 · Crime & LegalLEGAL AID CHICAGOTEXAS RIOGRANDE LEGAL AID INC: $247,191 · Crime & LegalTEXAS RIOGRANDE LEGAL AID INCLEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER: $137,500 · Crime & LegalLEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTERLEGAL AID OF NORTH CAROLINA INC: $119,174 · Crime & LegalLEGAL AID OF NORTH CAROLINA INCTHE LEGAL AID SOCIETY: $87,156 · Crime & Legal+17 more: $235,019 · Crime & Legal+17 morePACE UNIVERSITY: $156,016 · EducationWILLIAM J BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC: $125,591 · EducationCornell University: $14,776 · EducationUniversity of Chicago: $12,773 · EducationAYUDA INC: $162,577 · Human ServicesMetropolitan Family Services: $49,037 · Human ServicesCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON - HOUSTON: $12,500 · Human Services+2 more: $13,000 · Human ServicesMALDEF - MEXICAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND: $11,017 · Civil RightsACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $10,000 · Civil RightsCOALITION FOR HUMANE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS: $6,500 · Civil RightsNATIONAL IMMIGRATION PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD INC: $6,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: $5,264 · Civil RightsHUMAN RIGHTS FIRST: $6,000 · InternationalTexas Appleseed: $6,000 · Community ImprovementAFRICAN SERVICES COMMITTEE INC: $5,105 · Arts & Culture
Other$2,108,526Crime & Legal$1,800,415Education$309,156Human Services$237,114Civil Rights$38,781International$6,000Community Improvement$6,000Arts & Culture$5,105

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetEAST BAY COMMUNITY LAW CENTER: $529,641 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetLEGAL AID CHICAGO: $444,734 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetGREATER BOSTON LEGAL SERVICES INC: $395,942 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetTEXAS RIOGRANDE LEGAL AID INC: $247,191 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetAYUDA INC: $162,577 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetPACE UNIVERSITY: $156,016 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM OF DC: $141,667 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetLEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER: $137,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetWILLIAM J BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC: $125,591 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLEGAL AID OF NORTH CAROLINA INC: $119,174 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LEGAL AID SOCIETY: $87,156 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLEGAL AID SOCIETY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: $82,911 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetNEW YORK LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP INC: $59,414 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPUBLIC COUNSEL: $56,959 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetMetropolitan Family Services: $49,037 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW HAVEN LEGAL ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION INC: $46,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES INC: $28,688 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCENTRAL VIRGINIA LEGAL AID SOCIETY INC: $23,088 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetLINCOLN SQUARE LEGAL SERVICES INC: $23,049 over 4y, 61% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS CORRECTIONAL LEGAL SERVICES INC DBA PRISONERS' LEGAL SVCS: $22,188 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetHARVARD LEGAL AID BUREAU: $16,500 over 2y, 21% of budgetCornell University: $14,776 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKIND INC: $13,642 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $12,773 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON - HOUSTON: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPHILADELPHIA LEGAL ASSISTANCE CENTER INC C/O THE ORGANIZATION: $12,392 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLEGAL SERVICES NYC: $12,135 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEQUIP FOR EQUALITY: $11,279 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMALDEF - MEXICAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND: $11,017 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNational Center for Youth Law: $7,921 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLegal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles: $7,802 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetQUALITY TRUST FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES INC: $7,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTIONAL LAW PROJECT: $6,667 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLEGAL AID SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO: $6,553 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEMPIRE JUSTICE CENTER: $6,553 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOALITION FOR HUMANE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS: $6,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMobilization for Justice Inc: $6,300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLEGAL ASSISTANCE OF WESTERN NEW YORK INC: $6,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASCEND JUSTICE: $6,250 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBLUE RIDGE LEGAL SERVICES INC: $6,220 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNorthwest Employment Education and Defense Fund: $6,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetChild Care Law Center: $6,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetHUMAN RIGHTS FIRST: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTexas Appleseed: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL IMMIGRATION PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMETROWEST LEGAL SERVICES INC: $5,289 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: $5,264 over 1y, 0.3% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Equal Justice WorksThe Skadden FoundationLegal Services Corpor…The Sidley Austin Fou…The Morrison & Foerst…The Gibson Dunn & Cru…American College of B…The Wilson Sonsini Go…Venable Foundation IncLittler Mendelson Fou…The Chicago Community…Mc Dermott Will and E…
Equal Justice WorksDC44.2× affinity19 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Equal Justice Works · The Skadden Foundation · Legal Services Corporation · The Sidley Austin Foundation · The Morrison & Foerster Foundation · The Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Foundation · American College of Bankruptcy Foundation · The Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation · Venable Foundation Inc · Littler Mendelson Foundation Inc Attn Tax Manager · The Chicago Community Trust · Mc Dermott Will and Emery Charitable Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Equal Justice America Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Equal Justice America Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Metrowest Legal Services Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Legal Services Inc: 3% of income from government
  • New Haven Legal Assistance Association Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Legal Aid Bureau Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
18report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Equal Justice America Inc?

Find your warmest path to Equal Justice America Inc through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 58 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Equal Justice America’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home