Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION
LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 41 organizations whose IRS filings report $9,422,672 to it, the largest being MARGARET A CARGILL FOUNDATION ($4,599,396). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $577M
- Funders on record
- 41
- Grants received
- $9.4M
- Net assets
- $99M
What Legal Services Corporation does
Mission
The congress of the united states of america, in the declaration of purpose of the Legal Services Corporation act (lsc act), found that "there is a need to provide equal access to the system of justice in our nation for individuals who seek redress of grievances; "that there is a need to provide high quality legal assistance to those who would otherwise be unable to afford adequate legal counsel; and "that providing legal assistance to those who face an economic barrier to adequate legal counsel will serve best the ends of justice and assist in improving opportunities for low-income persons." in keeping with this mandate, the Legal Services Corporation (lsc) establishes as our mission: to promote equal access to justice in our nation and to provide grants for high quality civil legal assistance to low-income persons.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Basic field grants: Legal Services Corporation promotes equal access to justice by providing $516 million in basic field grants to 132 independent legal aid organizations serving every state, the district of columbia, and u.s. Territories. Through these grants, lsc strengthens civil legal aid and expands access to justice in communities across the united states. Through a competitive grant process, lsc funds a nationwide network of nonprofit legal aid providers that deliver high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families who otherwise could not afford legal representation. Lsc-funded organizations help clients address critical legal issues affecting their safety, stability, and economic security, including housing and eviction prevention, family law and domestic violence matters, consumer protection, access to public benefits, veterans' services, disaster recovery, employment issues, and support for older americans.
$534,072,421 spentof which $516,067,473 as grants94% of program spendingEmergency disaster relief grants:provides supplemental funding to lsc grantees serving communities affected by federally declared disasters, enabling legal aid providers to respond to disaster related civil legal needs.
$15,932,437 spentof which $14,100,665 as grants3% of program spendingPro bono innovative funds:lsc awards pro bono innovative funds to lsc grantees on a competitive basis annually to develop, test and replicate innovative pro bono efforts that enable grantees to expand access to legal assistance using private, volunteer lawyers.
$5,876,249 spentof which $5,436,574 as grants1% of program spendingTechnology initiative grants:lsc awards technology initiative grants to lsc grantees to fund the development and implementation of technology solutions to enhance the delivery of civil legal aid, automate functions, and expand access to legal resources for self-represented litigants.
$5,764,471 spentof which $5,570,136 as grants1% of program spendingLoan repayment assistance program:lsc awards loan repayment assistance program (lrap) grants on a competitive basis to help grantees recruit and retain attorneys by reducing the financial burden of law school debt. The program supports a strong and stable legal aid workforce by helping grantees attract and retain qualified attorneys who provide critical civil legal services to low-income individuals and families.
$2,500,691 spentof which $2,416,386 as grants0% of program spendingOther program expenses:lsc engages in several programs and initiatives to help improve the civil legal aid problem in america such as the rural summer legal corps program a privately funded initiative to connect law students with legal aid programs in the common pursuit of better addressing the civillegal needs of rural communities as well as the itc conference which is the only national event focused exclusively on the use of technology in the legal aid community.
$3,873,455 spentof which $3,738,639 as grants$610,938 earned by the program1% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $568,019,724.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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 2023 to 2024, from $148M to $191M (+29%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2018 100% · 2019 99% · 2020 99% · 2021 99% · 2022 99% · 2023 98% · 2024 98%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
98% of LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (99% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 7 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.
Board chair
John G Levi
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 8 funders to 12 funders, grant income rose $672k → $1.5M.
10 of 41 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 4% 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 LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 41 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
LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 49% of grant income and the top three 68%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 82% · 2018 67% · 2019 66% · 2020 67% · 2021 26% · 2022 69% · 2023 47% — 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
44% of LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 51% 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
LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION draws 96% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 15 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $409k arriving through sponsors registered in 8 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
LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 15 crime & legal nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 15 crime & legal nonprofits over $100M, FY2024
Government funding LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $22 on record.
- REFUNDS - GENERAL $22
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION
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
97% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 37 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION: 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 LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION?
- LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 41 organizations whose IRS filings report $9,422,672 to it, the largest being MARGARET A CARGILL FOUNDATION ($4,599,396). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION have?
- IRS filings report 41 organizations giving $9,422,672 in grants to LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION, 21 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION?
- MARGARET A CARGILL FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $4,599,396 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION 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 2018–2024), and the filings of 41 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing