Brooklyn Defender Services
Offers legal help and advocacy for low-income individuals. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $92.8M in revenue, $89.4M in expenses, and $5.0M in net assets.Pt I
- Founded
- 1996
- Type
- Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Civil Rights & Advocacy
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
- Website
- bds.org
- Filings
- 5 on file (2020–2024)
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Summary of the Filing
Where the work happens
In FY25, brooklyn defender services (BDS) provided comprehensive legal representation to 28,695 low-income brooklyn and queens residents who were arrested, 1,610 parents in family court proceedings, 513 clients in detained immigration removal proceedings, and 2,543 clients facing barriers to civil justice.
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Identity & Classification
Governance & Policies
Officers, Directors & Key Employees
Lisa Schreibersdorf’s $390K as Executive Director is at the 81st percentile of top reported officer pay among 129 $10–100M civil rights & advocacy nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Schreibersdorf | $390,198 | $363,885 | — | $341,974 | $349,962 | $295,200 |
| Lisa Schreibersdorf | — | — | $353,696 | — | — | — |
| Laura Saft | $300,578 | $245,027 | — | $260,774 | $248,400 | $238,300 |
| Laura Saft | — | — | $269,161 | — | — | — |
| Lauren a Shapiro | $254,606 | $234,020 | — | — | — | — |
| Kwame Millar | $242,778 | $222,860 | — | $206,024 | $195,888 | — |
| Kelli McTaggart | $238,667 | $214,100 | — | — | — | — |
| Chauncey R Walker | $237,478 | — | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Statement of Revenue
Statement of Functional Expenses
Balance Sheet
Financial Metrics
Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.
| Metric | This org | Peer median | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program ratio | 88% | — | — |
| Overhead ratio | 12% | — | — |
| Fundraising cost ratio | 0.1% | — | — |
| Revenue growth | 4% | — | — |
Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.
Grants
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Filings & Schedule Manifest
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Sources
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