Forward Justice EIN 81-2450800

Forward Justice

EIN  81-2450800 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Morrisville, NC Founded 2016
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/16/26 · see original filing: IRS
Is this your organization?
Claim this profile to manage it and share your story.
Claim
Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Forward Justice claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Size
$1–10M
What they do
Advance racial, social, and economic justice through law, policy, and strategy.
Leadership
Daryl Atkinson · Co-Director · $154K
Money in and out
$7.7M revenue, $4.5M expenses
Bottom line
71% program efficiency

Advance racial, social, and economic justice through law, policy, and strategy. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $7.7M in revenue, $4.5M in expenses, and $13.7M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$7.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$4.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$13.7M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $3.2M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.20 Fundraising $0.10
Program efficiency
71%
of spending reaches programs▲ +6% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
22.9mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -23% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+42%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +34% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$7.7M
FY2024▲ +69%
Expenses
$4.5M
FY2024▲ +43%
Total assets
$14.3M
FY2024▲ +30%
Total liabilities
$582K
FY2024▲ +1%
Total revenue
$7.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$4.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$13.7M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$3.2M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$14.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B71%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 34
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 44
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $3.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The organization lead the statewide protect our vote coalition including voter and election protection through legal cases policy advocacy and statewide tours. Voter protection hotlines provided real-time assistance information and advocacy for voters experiencing barriers at the polls.

$1.9Mprogram expense
02

The organization conducted trainings to equip community members with the information skills tools and resources needed to effectively organize and build power within their communities. The organization coordinated and facilitated the Second Chance Day of Advocacy during which directly impacted individuals and community advocates met with…

$905Kprogram expense
03

The organization hosted Transformative Justice events and community dinners designed to build community deepen trust and create spaces for collective care healing reflection and shared strategizing. These gatherings supported relationship-building and strengthened community capacity to practice transformative justice.

$305Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CForward Justice
EINHdr · item D81-2450800
Principal addressHdr · item CMorrisville, NC
WebsiteHdr · item Jforwardjustice.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2016
State of legal domicileHdr · item MNC
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFCrime & Legal (I01)
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 2018

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a4
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b4
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15a
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Co-Director
$153,557Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Director
$153,525Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Director of Sustainability Emergence
$133,521Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Impact
$101,520Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Chairwoman
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Daryl Atkinson’s $154K as Co-Director is at the 66th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1146 $1–10M crime & legal 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020FY2019
Daryl Atkinson$172,878$112,837$97,401$95,003
Caitlin Swain$163,979$102,187$86,230$94,985
Daryl Atkinson$153,557$152,087
Caitlin Swain$153,525$145,566
Dr Ashley Marshall$133,521$112,264
Ashely Marshall$118,526
John Anthony Holbert$101,520

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 Forward Justice executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$5.3M · 69%
Program service revenue$2.2M · 29%
Other revenue$141K · 2%
Contributions & grants69%$5.3M
Program service revenue29%$2.2M
Other revenue2%$141K
Investment income$24K
Total revenueLn 12$7.7M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.20 Fundraising $0.10
Program services71%$3.1M
Management & general20%$889K
Fundraising10%$427K
Total functional expensesLn 25$4.5M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$8.5M
Total assetsLn 16$14.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$582K
Total net assetsLn 32$13.7M
Months of cash on handcomputed22.9

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $8.5M · Operating expenses/yr $4.5M
22.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $3.1M · Total expenses $4.5M
71%
Management & General
Management & general $889K · Total expenses $4.5M
20%
Fundraising
Fundraising $427K · Total expenses $4.5M
10%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $370K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $4.1M
$0.09 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $5.3M · Total revenue $7.7M
69%
Government reliance
Government grants $0 · Total revenue $7.7M
0%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $2.2M · Total revenue $7.7M
29%
Investment reliance
Investment income $24K · Total revenue $7.7M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $2.2M · Total expenses $4.5M
49%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $7.7M · Prior year $4.6M
+69%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $5.5M · FY2024 $7.7M
+7%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $13.7M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $7.7M · Expenses $4.5M
+42%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $14.3M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $13.7M · Total assets $14.3M
96%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $12K · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $14.3M
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Daryl Atkinson · Reported title Co-Director · Highest reported compensation $154K · Total expenses $4.5M
3%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.3M · Total expenses $4.5M
52%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 71%
Overhead ratio 20%
Fundraising cost ratio 8%
Revenue growth 69%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 1%
Accounting fee ratio 0%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

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

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Ford FoundationFY2024$1.2M
New Venture FundFY2024$275K
Tides FoundationFY2024$175K
Total grants receivedfrom 19 funders$4.0M
See all 19 funders →
Grants paid · 5 grants · $3.7M · 2019–2021
Spirit HouseFY2021$12,500
A New Way of Life Reentry ProjectCA · FY2020$2,360,617
Forward Justice Action NetworkNC · FY2020$374,375
Unitemized GrantFY2020$10,831
Forward Justice Action NetworkNC · FY2019$950,508

Similar Organizations

Closest in mission — by what they do
See all organizations like Forward Justice →

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$7.7M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$4.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$4.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$5.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$4.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2019$5.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

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 peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.