Montana · Nonprofit
MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION
MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION (Montana) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $72,312 to it, the largest being Global Impact ($41,531). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 84% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.9M
- Funders on record
- 7
- Grants received
- $72k
- Net assets
- $6.2M
What Montana Justice Foundation does
Mission
To achieve equal access to justice for all montanans through effective funding and leadership.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Interest on lawyers trust accounts program (iolta): a law-related public service program that strengthens our justice system. Iolta generates funds that are used to support legal aid, legal education for the public, and other activities that improve access to the quality of justice in montana. Through a comprehensive grant program, the mjf strategically and objectively allocates its resources to dozens of outstanding legal aid organizations and access to justice initiatives throughout the state.
$839,378 spentof which $827,100 as grants94% of program spendingCommunity education & grantee support: the mjf is a convening force that fosters innovation. With our strong ties to the state bar, our solid relationship with the court system, and our important role in the access to justice, public interest law and philanthropic communities, the mjf has an exceptional ability to bring together diverse stakeholders to innovatively address the common needs and collective challenges facing legal aid organizations and tackle systemic barriers to access to justice. Through community education & grantee support the mjf reaches out to montana's local communities, corporations, and government to raise awareness of the importance of and need for civil legal aid and access to justice initiatives in the state.
$12,278 spent1% of program spendingLoan repayment assistance program (lrap): the foundation makes loans to individuals through the foundations loan repayment assistance program (legal aid loans). This program is for law school graduates dedicated to providing legal aid to low-income individuals and families in montana, and assists legal aid lawyers working for montana legal aid organizations by reducing the burden of significant debt incurred to finance their law school education. A maximum loan amount of $2,500 per year may be awarded. Applicants must meet certain eligibility requirements. There are two enrollment periods. The first enrollment period has an application deadline of may 15. Applicants approved under this enrollment period will receive disbursements semi-annually in july and january. The second enrollment period has an application deadline of november 15. Applicants approved under this enrollment period will receive disbursements semi-annually in january and july. The foundation expects to forgive substantially all of the loans. Accordingly, the outstanding loan balance is offset by an allowance. These loans do not accrue interest.
$28,278 spentof which $16,000 as grants3% of program spendingOther program service: law related education and other law related program service activities
$12,279 spent1% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $892,213.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 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 $2.1M to $3.9M (+82%).
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: 2022 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
89% of MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (93% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 9 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
Alissa Chambers
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income rose $13k → $14k.
3 of 7 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 84% 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 MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 57% of grant income and the top three 92%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
91% 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 MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 61% · 2020 100% · 2021 98% · 2022 37% · 2023 100% — growing more concentrated.
“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.
Where its funders are
84% of MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $11k that is directly attributable, 56% of it comes from Montana funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $61k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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
MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 793 crime & legal nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 793 crime & legal nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION
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 Montana
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
75% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
91%
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 MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION: 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 MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION?
- MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION (Montana) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $72,312 to it, the largest being Global Impact ($41,531). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 84% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 7 organizations giving $72,312 in grants to MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION?
- Global Impact is the largest funder on record, with $41,531 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Montana. 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 FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 7 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