Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1996.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
12 people listed on the 990; $206K paid to officers and key staff.
Randi Chavez’s $133K as Deputy Director is at the 46th percentile of top reported officer pay among 797 $1–10M 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 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randi Chavez | $132,525 | $104,127 | $100,648 | $104,167 | $80,348 | — |
| Burke Butler | $111,379 | $120,167 | $120,052 | $104,167 | — | — |
| Emily Follansbee | $117,058 | $109,101 | — | — | — | — |
| Estelle Hebron-Jones | $117,058 | $103,600 | — | — | — | — |
| Kathryn McNiel | — | — | — | — | $108,975 | — |
| Amanda Marzullo | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jennae Swiergula | — | — | — | $104,885 | $94,230 | — |
| Kathryn McNiel from Feb | — | — | — | — | — | $103,446 |
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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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Advocates for fair justice, reducing death penalty use, and improving defense for the poor in Texas.
Questions for Texas Defender Service
Your first name shows with your question. Texas Defender Service answers here, for everyone.
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TDS provides direct representation to indigent inmates on Texas death row, consults with other lawyers litigating such cases, intervenes in cases where expert legal assistance is urgently needed, and engages in issue advocacy aimed at improving the Texas criminal justice system.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.5M | $1.9M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $0 | |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $478K | $465K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $2.7M | $2.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $68K | $508K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $2.6M | $2.0M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $0 | |||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $0 | |||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $0 | |||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | |||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $114K | $94K | $13K | $7K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $818K | $679K | $90K | $49K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $14K | $12K | $2K | $866 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $152K | $126K | $17K | $9K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $76K | $63K | $8K | $5K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $0 | |||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $63K | $63K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $44K | $44K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $0 | |||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $0 | |||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $0 | |||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $26K | $24K | $2K | $862 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $0 | |||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $29K | $20K | $8K | $1K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $20K | $16K | $2K | $1K |
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | |||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $106K | $88K | $12K | $6K |
| TravelLn 17 | $24K | $20K | $3K | $1K |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $21K | $17K | $2K | $1K |
| InterestLn 20 | $0 | |||
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $16K | $13K | $2K | $932 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $22K | $18K | $2K | $1K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $31K | $14K | $1K | $16K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $0 | |||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.6M | $1.3M | $206K | $101K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $2.3M | $2.2M | $154K | $2.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $2.6M | $2.1M | $502K | $2.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.1M | $2.1M | −$48K | $2.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.3M | $1.9M | $385K | $2.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $1.5M | $1.6M | −$139K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $934K | $1.6M | −$640K | $2.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2019 | $2.0M | $1.8M | $194K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $934,125 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $934,125 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,573,800 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $2,468,940 assets, 19 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,961,293 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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