Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 1978.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
94 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
19 people listed on the 990; $1.3M paid to officers and key staff.
Margot Mendelson’s $300K as Executive Director is at the 78th percentile of top reported officer pay among 247 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Specter | — | $274,925 | $302,000 | — | — | $285,215 |
| Margot Mendelson | $299,616 | $218,283 | $182,157 | — | — | — |
| Donald Spector | — | — | — | $295,215 | $285,215 | — |
| Alison Hardy | $269,116 | $245,028 | $226,108 | $212,600 | $207,150 | $207,150 |
| Steven Fama | $266,869 | $240,663 | $248,037 | $214,400 | $207,150 | $207,150 |
| Sara Norman | — | $249,224 | $240,675 | $227,245 | $219,880 | $219,880 |
| Marissa Hatton | $231,864 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rita Lomion | $209,668 | — | — | — | — | — |
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 incarcerated people on conditions and parole.
Questions for Prison Law Office
Your first name shows with your question. Prison Law Office answers here, for everyone.
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Prison law office is committed to protecting the civil rights of california prisoners and to foster community awareness and education in prison related issues.
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 | $1.3M | $1.9M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $61.0M | $66.7M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $3.8M | $3.7M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $69.0M | $75.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $553K | $953K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $68.5M | $74.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.5M | $1.4M | $150K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.1M | $1.1M | ||
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $237K | $223K | $13K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $180K | $170K | $10K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $10K | $10K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $48K | $48K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $83K | $78K | $5K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $49K | $46K | $3K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $40K | $13K | $27K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $87K | $84K | $3K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $88K | $81K | $7K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $25K | $24K | $1K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $761K | $759K | $2K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $45K | $18K | $27K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $4.3M | $4.1M | $249K | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $12.9M | $7.6M | $5.2M | $139.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $10.3M | $6.2M | $4.1M | $120.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $16.1M | $5.0M | $11.1M | $104.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $24.2M | $4.3M | $19.9M | $89.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $11.3M | $3.7M | $7.6M | $98.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $10.5M | $4.3M | $6.2M | $74.8M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $10,465,939 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 13 of 13 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $10,465,939 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $4,304,254 across 14 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $75,722,346 assets, 13 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $74,769,235 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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