Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE
NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $61,100 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($22,100). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $600k
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $61k
- Net assets
- $1.6M
What National Civil Justice Institute does
Mission
The objectives and goals of the institute shall be to receive and administer funds for the purpose of providing and supporting educational programs for lawyers, legal academics, and members of the judiciary, conferences and publications which will advance the study and science of jurisprudence; and to promote the administration of justice.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
2025 judges forum: judicial interpretation and precedent - the vital role of state courts (san francisco) ncji's 34th annual judges forum was held in person on july 19, 2025 in san francisco, california. Ninety-nine judges from 31 states, along with academics and practitioners, participated in a full-day program focused on how state courts interpret precedent in an era of shifting federal doctrine and heightened public scrutiny of the judiciary. The program examined the relationship between state and federal jurisprudence, how state courts can develop independent bodies of law under their own constitutions, and the practical implications of precedent for day-to-day judging. An outstanding faculty of judges and scholars led sessions throughout the day focused on two original academic papers: popular accountability and state constitutional law by prof. Jonathan marshfield of the university of florida levin college of law; and the bottom-up constitution: states and the evolution of american constitutional law by dean gerald dickinson of the university of pittsburgh school of law. Judges also engaged in small-group discussions to share experiences across jurisdictions. Attending…
$511,557 spent96% of program spending2025 civil justice scholarship award. Ncji conferred its 2025 civil justice scholarship award on the authors of two law review articles about the importance of civil juries in a democracy and how certain large debt- collectors exploit the civil justice system. Prof. Richard jolly, prof. Valerie hans and attorney robert peck were recognized for their article democratic renewal and the civil jury 57 ga. L. Rev. 79 (2022), which highlights the civil jury's vital role as a cornerstone of representative governance and its potential to foster sociopolitical renewal. Prof. Daniel wilf-townsend was recognized for his article assembly-line plaintiffs 135 harv. L. Rev. 1704 (2022), which argues that state courts across the u.s. Are being overwhelmed by a high volume of low-value claims from large corporate plaintiffs, often targeting unrepresented and vulnerable defendants. The award recipients received monetary stipends, framed certificates, and a paid trip to be honored at the ncji fellows reception in miami, florida in february 2025.
$20,756 spent4% of program spending2025 appellate advocacy award. At the ncji fellows reception on july 20, 2025 in san francisco, the institute presented its 11th annual appellate advocacy award to three attorneys for significant pro bono victories advancing civil justice: josh davis (berger montague) and scott dodson (uc law san francisco) for their unanimous u.s. Supreme court victory in harrow v. Department of defense, which clarified the availability of equitable tolling in certain merit systems protection board appeals; and denyse clancy (kazan, mcclain, satterley & greenwood) for her successful advocacy in california capital insurance v. Hoehn, in which the california supreme court strengthened protections for litigants against default judgments entered without proper service.
$1,154 spent0% of program spendingWebinar for judges on judicial independence. Ncji partnered with the brennan center for justice to present a complimentary webinar for state judges on the topic "courts under pressure: strategies to protect judicial independence" on december 2, 2025. This judges-only program -- attended by more than 175 state court judges -- featured justice paige petersen of the utah supreme court, a representative of the brennan center's judiciary program, and ncji president andre mura in a candid discussion of legislative challenges facing state courts and how judges are responding to safeguard judicial independence. Judges gave very positive feedback on the webinar, expressing appreciation for the timely and highly relevant information and rating it 4.5 out of 5 overall.
$1,500 spent0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $534,967.
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 $1.2M to $1.7M (+40%).
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: 2021 8% · 2022 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $4k → $8k.
1 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 36% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $1.6M from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest The American Association for Justice Robert L Habush Endowment). These are real filings, and they are not money NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE raised.
From the IRS filings of NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE’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 CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 36% of grant income and the top three 78%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
36% 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 CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 45% · 2021 71% · 2022 77% · 2023 75% — 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.
Where its funders are
NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 5 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $22k arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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.
Organizations like NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE
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
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
54%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 29 states
Part of a family of 2 related entities
- American Association for Justice · exempt
- Aaj-Robert L Habush Endowment · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE: 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 CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE?
- NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $61,100 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($22,100). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $61,100 in grants to NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $22,100 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like NATIONAL CIVIL JUSTICE INSTITUTE 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 Civil Justice Institute →
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