Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
DC JUSTICE LAB
DC JUSTICE LAB (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 32 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,200,346 to it, the largest being FWDUS EDUCATION FUND INC ($1,175,000). 19 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.8M
- Funders on record
- 32
- Grants received
- $6.2M
- Net assets
- $1.5M
What DC Justice Lab does
Mission
DC Justice Lab is a team of law and policy experts researching, organizing, and advocating for large-scale changes to the district's criminal legal system. We develop smarter safety solutions that are evidence-driven, community-rooted, and racially just. We aim to fully transform the district's approach to public safety and make it a national leader in justice reform.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Advocacy:we skillfully played a leading role in advancing reforms related to the decriminalization of street vending, the elimination of solitary confinement, the establishment of a reparations task force, and the improvement of nutritional standards in local jails. We continued to support partner organizations' work in other areas that limit state violence; advancing our commitment to collective impact.
$622,276 spent49% of program spendingResearch:we became the premier source of research on policing, prosecution, and punishment in the district when we launched our dc justice library in 2023. The no-cost library is a repository of the most comprehensive and up-to-date research on public safety issues in washington, d.c., with collections of relevant articles, as well as a section that teaches readers how to understand the lawmaking process and effectuate change in the nation's capital.
$437,166 spent35% of program spendingTraining:we welcomed our first class of dc justice fellows, selecting two recent law graduates through a highly competitive process. These movement lawyers in training began an intensive program to develop their advocacy skills, starting with an overview of d.c.'s policymaking history and an in-depth account of its impact on vulnerable populations. With our support, they are leading campaigns to decriminalize sex work, reform community supervision, reduce pretrial incarceration for failure to appear in court, and establish a reparations task force.building on our 2022 safety summit, we hosted our first policy training academy and community safety fair. We trained dozens of community leaders in research and advocacy, equipping them with culturally competent tools to create and present their ideas for a safer, freer, and more equal district of columbia. Participants left with well-supported proposals to present to decision-makers, the media, and general public; along with new relationships and connections to likeminded advocates that created a strong foundation to fight for change in the district.
$199,796 spent16% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,259,238.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $1.1M to $1.7M (+47%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
100% of DC JUSTICE LAB’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (93% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 5 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Patrice Sulton
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 15 funders, grant income rose $261k → $1.3M.
11 of 32 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 29% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of DC JUSTICE LAB’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 32 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
DC JUSTICE LAB has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 19% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
54% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund DC JUSTICE LAB.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 96% · 2021 32% · 2022 27% · 2023 24% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
50% of DC JUSTICE LAB's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 59% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
81% of DC JUSTICE LAB's grant income comes from Washington, D.C. funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.8M arriving through sponsors registered in 6 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
DC JUSTICE LAB has grown faster than three-quarters of the 1,337 crime & legal nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,337 crime & legal nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like DC JUSTICE LAB
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
62% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
56%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for DC JUSTICE LAB: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds DC JUSTICE LAB?
- DC JUSTICE LAB (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 32 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,200,346 to it, the largest being FWDUS EDUCATION FUND INC ($1,175,000). 19 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does DC JUSTICE LAB have?
- IRS filings report 32 organizations giving $6,200,346 in grants to DC JUSTICE LAB, 19 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of DC JUSTICE LAB?
- FWDUS EDUCATION FUND INC is the largest funder on record, with $1,175,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like DC JUSTICE LAB find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2020–2024), and the filings of 32 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing