Disable all preview features

Human and Civil Rights : Advocacy and Education

Western Center on Law & Poverty

Fighting for justice for all Californians

four stars

90.84

3701 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 208
Los Angeles, CA 90010
tel: (213) 487-7211   Web Site
EIN: 95-2897721

Board Leadership
Dave Elson & Grace Carter
Co Chairs

CEO
Paul Tepper
Executive Director

 
 
  Score
(out of 100)		 Rating
Overall Score & Rating 90.84 four stars
  Financial 87.05 three stars
  Accountability & Transparency 100.00 four stars
This rating was published 06/01/2017 and includes data from FY2015, the most recent 990 received at that time.
Why isn't this based on more recent data?

Learn more about how we calculate the overall score and rating.

Financial

three stars

87.05

Accountability & Transparency

four stars

100.00

This rating was published 06/01/2017 and includes data from FY2015, the most recent 990 received at that time.
Why isn't this based on more recent data?
Overall Rating Chart
  Program Expenses
(Percent of the charity's total expenses spent on the programs
and services it delivers)		 74.7%
  Administrative Expenses 14.0%
  Fundraising Expenses 11.2%
  Fundraising Efficiency $0.16
  Working Capital Ratio (years) 0.60
  Program Expenses Growth 7.1%
  Liabilities to Assets 12.8%
All data for Financial Performance Metrics calculations was provided by Western Center on Law & Poverty on recent 990s filed with the IRS.
All data for Financial Performance Metrics calculations was provided by Western Center on Law & Poverty on recent 990s filed with the IRS.
Information Provided on the Form 990  
  Independent Voting Board Members
  No Material diversion of assets
  Audited financials prepared by independent accountant
  Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From related parties
  Documents Board Meeting Minutes
  Provided copy of Form 990 to organization's governing body in advance of filing
  Conflict of Interest Policy
  Whistleblower Policy
  Records Retention and Destruction Policy
  CEO listed with salary
  Process for determining CEO compensation
  Board Listed / Board Members Not Compensated
Is the following information easily accessible on the charity's website?  
  Donor Privacy Policy
  Board Members Listed
  Audited Financials
  Form 990
  Key staff listed

Highly Rated

Charity Name & State Overall Score Overall Rating
Western Center on Law & Poverty (CA) 90.84 four stars
Legal Action Center of the City of New York (NY) 87.95 three stars
Legal Services for Children (CA) 88.87 three stars
Center for Constitutional Rights (NY) 89.68 three stars
And Justice for All (UT) 92.22 four stars

Compare These Charities (Highly Rated)

Western Center on Law & Poverty leads the fight in the court, counties and capital to secure housing, healthcare and a strong safety net for low-income Californians. Western Center opened its doors in 1967 in the midst of the nation's "War on Poverty" as a joint legal clinic of USC, UCLA, and Loyola Law Schools. In 1996, Congress cut off federal financial support for programs like Western Center. Today Western Center's cutting edge advocacy, litigation and educational work are supported by private donations, foundation grants, and attorney fee awards. Western Center receives no federal funding.

REVENUE  
Contributions  
   Contributions, Gifts & Grants $2,144,632
   Federated Campaigns $0
   Membership Dues $0
   Fundraising Events $98,852
   Related Organizations $0
   Government Grants $471,743
Total Contributions $2,715,227
   Program Service Revenue $1,840,506
Total Primary Revenue $4,555,733
   Other Revenue $126,291
TOTAL REVENUE $4,682,024
   
EXPENSES  
   Program Expenses $2,807,454
   Administrative Expenses $467,247
   Fundraising Expenses $426,189
TOTAL FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES $3,700,890
   
Payments to Affiliates $0
Excess (or Deficit) for the year $981,134
   
Net Assets $2,216,827

Program names and associated costs are listed for the top programs as reported on the charity's most recently filed Form 990. The top programs displayed will include the largest three programs, or those programs covering at least 60% of the charity's total expenses, whichever comes first.

Program Name Amount Spent % of Program Expenses
Housing Advocacy $1,151,056 41.0%
Health Advocacy $982,609 35.0%
Public Assistance Advocacy $673,789 24.0%

Ratings History

Form 990 FYE Date Published Overall Score Overall Rating
CN 2.1
2015-12 06/01/2017 90.84 four stars
2014-12 11/01/2016 87.04 three stars
2014-12 06/01/2016 86.74 three stars
 
CN 2.0
2014-12 12/22/2015 87.29 three stars
2013-12 10/01/2015 89.38 three stars
2013-12 04/01/2015 89.73 three stars
2012-12 12/20/2013 82.07 three stars
2012-12 12/01/2013 81.85 three stars
2011-12 04/01/2013 75.47 two stars

The data displayed on this tab is provided by the IRS in the form of Publication 78 and the Business Master File (BMF).

EIN 95-2897721
Name in IRS Master File WESTERN CENTER ON LAW AND POVERTY
NTEE Code I80
NTEE Classification Legal Services
NTEE Type Crime, Legal-Related
Classification Charitable Organization
Subsection 501(c)(3)  (View the list of codes)
Activities (460) Public interest litigation activities
(462) Legal aid to indigents
(560) Supplying money, goods or services to the poor
Foundation Status Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public   170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
Deductibility Contributions are deductible
Affiliation Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations).
Group Name [Not Applicable]
Ruling Date October, 1974
Filing Requirement 990 (all other) or 990EZ return
Fiscal Year End December
IRS Forms 990
(provided courtesy of Foundation Center)		 (Log In or Register Now to View Forms 990!)
  • December, 2015
  • December, 2014
  • December, 2013
  • December, 2012
  • December, 2011

The data displayed in this profile is provided by the IRS for free in the form of Publication 78 and the Business Master File (BMF).

We invite you to share your opinions, thoughts, experiences, and stories about this charity here to help inform the decisions of other donors.  
Need more help getting started? Check out our FAQs.
 
This tool is not for questions about Charity Navigator, such as how we derived this charity’s rating. We will happily answer those questions if you contact us directly. Likewise, if you have questions for this charity, then we encourage you to contact the charity directly (we include the charity’s contact information in the upper left-hand corner of this page) since few charities regularly monitor this commenting tool.

Compensation % of Expenses Paid to Title
$154,938 4.18% Paul Tepper Executive Director, President

Western Center on Law & Poverty leads the fight in the court, counties and capital to secure housing, healthcare and a strong safety net for low-income Californians. Western Center opened its doors in 1967 in the midst of the nation's "War on Poverty" as a joint legal clinic of USC, UCLA, and Loyola Law Schools. In 1996, Congress cut off federal financial support for programs like Western Center. Today Western Center's cutting edge advocacy, litigation and educational work are supported by private donations, foundation grants, and attorney fee awards. Western Center receives no federal funding.

Highly Rated

Charity Name & State Overall Score Overall Rating
Western Center on Law & Poverty (CA) 90.84 four stars
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (CA) 91.84 four stars
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NY) 90.27 four stars
Legal Aid Justice Center (VA) 87.82 three stars
Alabama Law Foundation (AL) 85.00 three stars

Compare These Charities (Highly Rated)

This charity has an official representative registered with Charity Navigator.

Charity Contact Info

Western Center on Law & Poverty
3701 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 208
Los Angeles, CA 90010
tel: (213) 487-7211
fax: (213) 487-0242
EIN: 95-2897721

Visit Web Site

Board Leadership

Dave Elson & Grace Carter
Co Chairs

CEO

Paul Tepper
Executive Director

please wait...

    • I want to donate to Western Center on Law & Poverty

      $
      next

    • Frequency

      back
      next

    • Would you like us to email someone and CC you?

      This email identifies you as the donor but does not specify the amount of your gift.
      back
    A donation of to has been added to your Giving Basket!

    Basket Total:
    Check Out Now or Continue Researching
[ X ]

Did You Know We Are a Charity, Too?

If even a third of the 7 million people who visited our site last year had donated a dollar to Charity Navigator, we would comfortably meet our annual budget and be able to do what so many of you ask us to do every day--rate more charities!

With the support of users like you, we are currently investing in staff and technology. This will allow us to improve the search and organizational features of our site, making it easier to find the information that matters most to you. We will also continue to enhance our evaluation system and metrics.

So, whether you're a first time visitor or a long time user, we ask for your help in achieving our goal. Your gift of any size is most deeply appreciated! Thank You!

With the support of users like you, we are making it easier to find the info that matters most. Thank you!

Join Our Mailing List

Join over 400,000 other informed givers and get updates on charity ratings, new features, hot topics, and tips for donating.

As seen on
Help Center