philanthropy.org | 990 Resource | FAQ Verify yourself
Sign in

Accesslex Institute

Tax-deductible

West Chester, PA501(c)(3)Since 1993Public & Societal Benefit EIN 23-2719985Revenue $72.1M in FY2025

On file with the IRS10 N High Street Fourth, 19380-3014 · West Chester, PATax-exempt since Jun 1993Publicly supported — 509(a)(2)

Claim this org

(tell your story, add context, and more)

What claiming does How does your 990 look to donors? Take the 10-Question Audit

Please refer to schedule oaccesslex Institute is an organization underpinned by a membership comprised of approximately 200 american bar association (aba)-approved nonprofit and state-affiliated law schools and is dedicated to improved educational access for diverse and underrepresented students, increased affordability, and enhanced and lasting value in legal education. This commitment is actualized through our research, grantmaking, policy analysis and advocacy, and educational services activities. Throughout its history, Accesslex Institute has continually evolved to meet the ever-changing challenges and needs of the students and institutions of higher education that we serve. As a strong and leading voice in each of our focus areas, we are driven by strategic initiatives and expanded programs designed to maintain the vibrancy and dynamism of our mission.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
89¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 11 volunteers and 111 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $214K a year · under 1% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
89%
of spending
Looks good: 89% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$4.3M
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 90% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $995.6M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 1.0 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Liabilities
$570.7M
36% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 36% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
12
of 13 voting members
Looks good: 12 of 13 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$72.1M
-25% vs prior year
Spent
$83.2M
To programs
89%
Net assets
$998.8M
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$72.1M
FY2025▼ -25%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$95.7M
FY2022$71.5M
FY2023$77.9M
FY2024$95.9M
FY2025$72.1M
Expenses
$83.2M
FY2025▼ -18%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$83.5M
FY2022$67.0M
FY2023$76.5M
FY2024$101.8M
FY2025$83.2M
Net assets
$998.8M
FY2025▲ +5%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$865.8M
FY2022$871.5M
FY2023$813.5M
FY2024$948.7M
FY2025$998.8M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending March 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

990 PDF Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 1993.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

89 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 89% · $74.5M Management & general 11% · $8.8M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Something off? Claim to add context

Who runs it and what they're paid

29 people listed on the 990; $4.3M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Christopher P Chapman
President & CEO
$718,790Pt VII · Sec A
Debra Swartz
SVP General Counsel & Cco
$423,238Pt VII · Sec A
Aaron N Taylor
SVP, Exec. Director for Legal Ed
$342,193Pt VII · Sec A
James R Cassity
SVP Corp Operations and CIO
$309,126Pt VII · Sec A
David J Ramage
SVP and CIO
$298,560Pt VII · Sec A
$296,805Pt VII · Sec A
Valerie Young
VP Human Resources
$207,946Pt VII · Sec A
Tiffane Cochran
VP Research
$207,206Pt VII · Sec A

Christopher P Chapman’s $719K as President & CEO is at the 90th percentile of top reported officer pay among 232 $10–100M public & societal benefit 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Christopher Chapman———$761,248$816,177
Christopher P Chapman$718,790$689,873$697,770——
Debra Swartz$423,238$417,533$348,983$317,562$302,790
Aaron N Taylor$342,193$331,362$327,142$315,938—
James R Cassity$309,126$294,564$266,616$245,434—
David J Ramage$298,560$286,191$258,484$242,630—
Aaron Taylor————$297,127
Samuel Greenhalgh JR$296,805$278,828—$242,389$213,379

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.

See Accesslex Institute executive salaries →

On this list? Claim this org

Something off? Claim to add context

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Supports diverse law students and improves legal education affordability and access through research, grantmaking, policy advocacy, and specialized educational services.

Questions for Accesslex Institute

Tap to ask. Accesslex Institute sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Accesslex Institute answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this org? Add your story

2 programs · $74.5M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

See schedule o

$60.4Mprogram expense
02

See schedule o

$14.1Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · this organization's grantmaking
Grants paid · 230 grants · $11.8M · 2020–2024
The State Bar of California - Exam Features ExperimentFY2024$175,000
University of Arkansas - Sppark Grant AgrFY2024$160,000
New York Law SchoolNY · FY2024$150,000
American Bar FoundationIL · FY2024$150,000
Pennsylvania State University - Antiracist Development Initiative for Law SFY2024$125,000
Association of Law School Diversity ProfessionalsDE · FY2024$115,000
Regents of the University of ColoradoCO · FY2024$100,000
National Center for Civic Innovation INCNY · FY2024$100,000
University of MiamiFL · FY2024$92,500
Indiana UniversityIN · FY2024$91,438
Bowie State University FoundationMD · FY2024$75,000
Law College Association of the University of ArizonaAZ · FY2024$75,000
University of UtahUT · FY2024$75,000
Association of American Law Schools INCDC · FY2024$75,000
National Center for State CourtsVA · FY2024$70,000
Law College Association of the University of ArizonaAZ · FY2024$70,000
Michigan State University CollegeMI · FY2024$70,000
Western New England UniversityMA · FY2024$67,875
See all 230 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$72.1M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$57.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$13.5M
Other incomeLn 4–11$1.3M
Money outPt IX
$83.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$74.5M
Managementcol C$8.8M
Owns and owesPt X
$998.8M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$6.6M
Total assetsLn 16$1.6B
LiabilitiesLn 26$570.7M
PeoplePt VI, VII
29
listed · VII A
PaidVII A17
Voting boardVI 1a13
IndependentVI 1b12
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Fees for servicesLn 2g$57.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$13.5M
Other incomeLn 4–11$1.3M
Gains on assetsLn 7$2.6M
Total revenueLn 12$72.1M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$363K
SavingsLn 2$6.2M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$6.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$995.6M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$801K
Other assetsLn 15$62.2M
Total assetsLn 16$1.6B
LiabilitiesLn 26$570.7M
Net assetsLn 32$998.8M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5111
VolunteersI 611
Fiscal year endsHeaderMarch
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$6.3M$6.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$922.7M$995.6M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$784K$801K
Total assetsLn 16$1.79B$1.57B
LiabilitiesLn 26$836.9M$570.7M
Net assetsLn 32$948.7M$998.8M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$2.3M$2.3M
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$390K$390K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$3.5M$2.4M$1.1M
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$7.7M$3.5M$4.2M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$773K$474K$299K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.7M$1.1M$610K
Payroll taxesLn 10$798K$142K$655K
Legal feesLn 11b$130K$30K$100K
Accounting feesLn 11c$373K$373K
Investment management feesLn 11f$640K$640K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$2.9M$2.8M$180K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1.5M$1.5M$40K
Office expensesLn 13$129K$75K$54K
Information technologyLn 14$1.5M$1.2M$275K
OccupancyLn 16$788K$637K$151K
TravelLn 17$841K$776K$65K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$854K$851K$3K
InterestLn 20$51.1M$51.1M
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$263K$47K$216K
InsuranceLn 23$464K$464K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$4.5M$4.5M
Total functional expensesLn 25$83.2M$74.5M$8.8M$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $72.1M$83.2M−$11.2M$998.8M 990 PDF
FY2024 $95.9M$101.8M−$6.0M$948.7M 990 PDF
FY2023 $77.9M$76.5M$1.5M$813.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 $71.5M$67.0M$4.5M$871.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $95.7M$83.5M$12.2M$865.8M 990 PDF

More to add? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $72,063,198 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $0$0
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $79,199,718$57,253,020
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $12,875,427$13,470,283
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $3,815,737$1,339,895
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $95,890,882$72,063,198
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $2,459,154$2,719,087
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $13,975,562$14,452,110
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $85,408,058$66,075,768
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $101,842,774$83,246,965
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$5,951,892−$11,183,767
Part VI · Governance 12 of 13 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body13
VI-1b Independent voting members12
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $72,063,198 across 6 lines filed
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $57,200,777 · Unrelated business $52,243$57,253,020
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $36,146 · Excluded from tax $10,784,407$10,820,553
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax $282,573$282,573
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $2,649,730$2,649,730
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $1,057,322$1,057,322
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $57,200,777 · Unrelated business $88,389 · Excluded from tax $14,774,032$72,063,198
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $83,246,965 across 21 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $2,329,122$2,329,122
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $389,965$389,965
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $2,387,990 · Management $1,106,260$3,494,250
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $3,460,172 · Management $4,205,096$7,665,268
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $473,984 · Management $298,665$772,649
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,112,563 · Management $609,655$1,722,218
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $142,465 · Management $655,260$797,725
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $30,053 · Management $100,420$130,473
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $373,417$373,417
IX-11f Investment management feesPrograms $640,000$640,000
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $2,768,934 · Management $179,688$2,948,622
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,490,761 · Management $40,152$1,530,913
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $74,761 · Management $54,066$128,827
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $1,229,198 · Management $275,355$1,504,553
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $636,945 · Management $150,742$787,687
IX-17 TravelPrograms $775,848 · Management $65,163$841,011
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $851,032 · Management $2,608$853,640
IX-20 InterestPrograms $51,085,890$51,085,890
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $46,986 · Management $216,110$263,096
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $463,850$463,850
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $4,523,789$4,523,789
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $74,450,458 · Management $8,796,507 · Fundraising $0$83,246,965
Part X · Balance sheet $1,569,435,529 assets, 18 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $503,340,521; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $209,697$363,374
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $6,138,076$6,237,415
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $132,232$131,050
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $753,819$717,600
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $784,214$800,650
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $373,877,052$333,226,156
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $515,855,165$621,371,133
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $33,000,000$41,000,000
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $113,645,513$62,247,630
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,785,535,287$1,569,435,529
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $46,110,815$52,150,703
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $0$0
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $786,385,165$514,576,825
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $4,357,176$3,949,103
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $836,853,156$570,676,631
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $948,682,131$998,758,898
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $948,682,131$998,758,898
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,785,535,287$1,569,435,529
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $998,758,898 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$72,063,198
XI-2 Total expenses$83,246,965
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$11,183,767
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$948,682,131
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$61,214,167
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$46,367
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$998,758,898

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

Your org? Add context

Made it to the end? Claim this org

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.