Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $295,802 to it, the largest being FAIR TRIALS AMERICAS ($227,389). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $9.0M
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $296k
- Net assets
- $4.1M
What National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Inc does
Mission
Serve as a leader, alongside diverse coalitions, in identifying and reforming flaws and inequities in the criminal legal system, and redressing systemic racism, and ensuring that its members and others in the criminal defense bar are fully equipped to serve all accused persons at the highest level.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Nacdl, "liberty's last champion," is advancing due process and pursuing a rational and humane criminal legal system across the full spectrum of the criminal defense agenda: forensics reform, death penalty repeal, discovery reform, drug law reform; eyewitness identification reform, public defense, juvenile justice, national security, post-conviction rights restoration, problem-solving courts, recording interrogations, sentencing reform, protection of privacy rights in the digital age, clemency and early release advocacy. This is accomplished through groundbreaking research and reporting as well as advocacy at the federal, state and local levels. Nacdl also offers a resource center to provide practice support and access to training to the many small and solo practitioners across the country.
Nacdl's cle institute offers cutting edge continuing legal education (cle) programming both in live format as well as a wide variety of content delivery methods for acquiring self-study cle. Unlike any other cle providers focused on criminal defense, nacdl garners its quality advantage as a result of its ability to attract nationally-recognized faculties consisting of the nation's greatest legal minds, high-profile figures, and experts in a variety of specializations. These faculties translate into the production of premiere cle programming which addresses the most current and relevant issues in the criminal defense community.
"the champion magazine" offers timely, informative articles written for the defense bar and others interested in the criminal legal system authored by criminal defense lawyers and other professionals working in the field. The articles address the latest developments in all areas related to the nation's criminal legal system on the federal, state and local levels, including myriad cutting-edge issues related to practice and policy in the criminal legal process. The publication seeks to elevate standards of practice throughout the criminal defense bar and promote systemic reforms that address a wide range of issues including protection of first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendment rights, promoting a fair, rational, and humane criminal legal system, and redressing systemic racism.
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $8.4M to $10M (+23%).
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.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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
Lisa Wayne
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2021: the base narrowed from 2 funders to 1 funder, grant income fell $33k → $12k.
Left out of every figure on this page: $17M from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Nacdl Foundation for Criminal Justice). These are real filings, and they are not money NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC raised.
From the IRS filings of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC’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
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 77% of grant income and the top three 93%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
96% 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 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 54% · 2018 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 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
83% of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC'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. 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.
Government funding NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $11.6M on record — $11.6M federal, $3k state.
- Department of Justice$11.6M
- (EE) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES$3k
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 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC
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.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Nacdl Foundation for Criminal Justice · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC: 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 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC?
- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $295,802 to it, the largest being FAIR TRIALS AMERICAS ($227,389). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $295,802 in grants to NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC?
- FAIR TRIALS AMERICAS is the largest funder on record, with $227,389 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS INC 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.
Play a game about who funds National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers →
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 6 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