irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024
What they reported doing
- #1 primary $1.78MWITH A FACULTY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE PRACTITIONERS AND A TOP FOUR NATIONALLY CLINICAL PROGRAM IN THE NATION (US NEWS & WORLD REPORT), GRANTS ARE INVESTED TO ADVANCE: COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND GENDER JUSTICE, AND IMMIGRATION AND NON-CITIZEN RIGHTS. SINCE 2009, CREATING LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY (CLEAR) HAS OFFERED FREE LEGAL REPRESENTATION AND CONSULTATION, KNOW-YOUR-RIGHTS WORKSHOPS, AND SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZING FOCUSED ON MUSLIM, ARAB, SOUTH ASIAN, AND OTHER COMMUNITIES IN NEW YORK CITY.
named programs · 5 · from sources
What they call their work
Community Economic Development Clinic
Advises community organizations on economic justice issues, including community benefits agreements and local development projects
Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR)
Offers free legal representation, know-your-rights workshops, and community organizing support for Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and other communities in NYC
Human Rights & Gender Justice Clinic
Engages in international human rights advocacy, including the creation of the world’s first Gender Persecution Observatory
Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic
Provides legal representation and advocacy for immigrants and non-citizens, focusing on policy and community-based legal strategies
Student Support Grants
Provides scholarships, public interest summer grants, bar study support, and emergency funding for law students
activities · 8 groups
What they do
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Legal Education and Career Pipeline Programs 4 activities
- Operating legal clinics providing free legal services and policy supportRuns a clinical education program guaranteeing every student an immersive semester of real-world legal practice, including providing free legal representation, know-your-rights workshops, and policy collaboration. Clinics have supported clemency grants, advised on community benefits agreements, and served Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and other communities in NYC through the CLEAR program.
- Running youth pipeline programs for underrepresented communitiesOperates the First Impressions Youth Legal Collaborative and the Pipeline to Justice program, which engage youth and aspiring law students from underrepresented backgrounds through civic leadership training, LSAT preparation, mentorship, and academic resources to expand access to justice and diversify the legal profession.
- Supporting alumni in delivering pro bono legal servicesSupports alumni in providing free legal support and community education to New Yorkers citywide through the City Counseling Initiative, extending the law school’s public service mission beyond graduation.
- Training public interest lawyers through affordable legal educationProvides an affordable legal education focused on client-facing, community-driven, and movement-led lawyering, with a curriculum that includes classrooms and clinics to train lawyers committed to social justice. As the only publicly funded law school in New York City, it emphasizes diversity and representation in the legal profession.
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Legal Education Scholarships and Fellowships 2 activities
- Funding public interest legal work through student grantsAwards grants to support students pursuing public interest legal work, including summer placements and bar exam preparation, to reduce financial barriers and promote careers in social justice law.
- Providing emergency and public interest financial support to law studentsOffers emergency grant funding for students experiencing financial hardship and provides scholarships, public interest summer grants, and bar exam preparation grants, particularly targeting low-income, first-generation, and non-traditional students. In one year, allocated $2.2 million to support these and other program services.
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Alumni Community Building 1 activity
- Facilitating alumni engagement and community buildingEngages alumni through a monthly newsletter, monthly virtual gatherings across class years and career paths, and a biennial in-person reunion event for specific graduating classes held at the law school in Long Island City.
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Human Rights Advocacy Funding 1 activity
- Funding initiatives in community and economic justice, human rights, and immigrationProvides funding for programs that advance community and economic justice, human rights and gender justice, and immigration and non-citizen rights, supporting systemic change through strategic grantmaking.
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Pro Bono Legal Representation and Support 1 activity
- Operating a pilot program for moderate-income legal servicesRan a five-year pilot (2016–2021) through Court Square Law that provided civil legal services on a sliding fee scale to moderate-income individuals and small businesses in New York City to address the justice gap.
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Human Rights Advocacy & Accountability 1 activity
- Operating the Gender Persecution ObservatoryRuns the Gender Persecution Observatory, an interactive platform that documents gender-based crimes in conflict zones and highlights justice and prevention mechanisms as part of its research and advocacy mission.
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Public Access to Digital and Physical Library Collections 1 activity
- Providing legal research education and library resourcesOffers required and advanced legal research courses with experiential learning components and maintains a law library with 22,500 square feet of space, seating for 200, a print collection of 13,000 volumes, 148,000 microform equivalents, and electronic access to major legal databases including Bloomberg Law, HeinOnline, Lexis, and Westlaw.
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Criminal Justice Policy Advocacy 1 activity
- Running the Second Look Project for clemency and criminal justice reformOperates The Second Look Project, which supports clemency applications and engages in statewide advocacy to reduce mass incarceration, involving students and formerly incarcerated clients in policy and legal advocacy.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$11.75M
Contributions & grants$11.42M97%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$335K3%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$2.25M
Program expenses97%
Admin / overhead2%
Fundraising2%
Salaries & benefits$1.28M
Grants paid out$457K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$21.19M
Cash$13.27M
Investments$5.79M
Liabilities$93K
Net assets$21.10M
Liquid reserves101.6 mo
5 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +332.6%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
board members · 16
- BRADLEY GANO — DIRECTOR (EX-OFFICIO)
- CAROLINA RIVADENEIRA — DIRECTOR
- CLARISSA MRODRIGUEZ — DIRECTOR
- DENISE A HOLZKA — DIRECTOR
- HON JAMES C FRANCIS IV — DIRECTOR
- JASON STEVENS — DIRECTOR
- JOEY LIPTON — SECRETARY
- JORGE F GOMEZ — CHAIR
- LAURA GENTILE — VICE-CHAIR
- MARTHA S JONES — ASSISTANT SECRETARY
- REBECCA SEAWRIGHT — DIRECTOR (EX-OFFICIO)
- SHYKA SCOTLAND — TREASURER
- STEVEN ROSENFIELD — DIRECTOR (EMERITUS)
- SUDHA SETTY — DIRECTOR
- TAEJONG KIM — DIRECTOR (EX-OFFICIO)
- TONY GENTILE — DIRECTOR
relationships · 12
Who they work with
- Bloomberg Law Partner — Provides access to Bloomberg Law as part of the Law School's electronic research subscriptions.
- Bronx Coalition Partner — Collaborates with the Community Economic Development Clinic on the Kingsbridge Armory Community Benefits Agreement.
- CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Government — Part of CUNY, the nation’s leading engine of social and economic mobility.
- CUNY School of Law Government — Primary affiliated institution whose mission the Foundation supports through fundraising and financial stewardship.
- Defenders Clinic Partner — Partners with the Defenders Clinic to run The Second Look Project.
- HeinOnline Partner — Provides access to HeinOnline as part of the Law School's electronic research subscriptions.
- Human Rights and Gender Justice (HRGJ) Clinic Partner — Collaborates with the HRGJ Clinic to operate the Gender Persecution Observatory.
- Lexis Partner — Provides access to Lexis as part of the Law School's electronic research subscriptions.
- MADRE Partner — Collaborates with the Human Rights & Gender Justice Clinic on a report concerning Afghan refugees' education rights.
- NEW YORK CITY BAR ASSOCIATION Partner — Co-founded the Court Square Law pilot project to provide civil legal services to moderate-income individuals and small businesses.
- Natalie Gomez-Velez Government — Interim Dean and Professor of Law at CUNY School of Law
- Westlaw Partner — Provides access to Westlaw as part of the Law School's electronic research subscriptions.
strategies · 4
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Community-Driven Legal Educationmethodology: community-driven-lawyeringBy grounding legal training in community engagement and movement-led lawyering, the law school produces more effective public interest attorneys who are aligned with systemic change, because lived experience and community leadership are central to transformative justice.
- Holistic Student Development through Clinical and Admissions Practicesmethodology: holistic_student_developmentBy integrating holistic admissions and clinical education, the school develops a diverse cohort of public interest lawyers, because identifying talent beyond traditional metrics and embedding real-world practice in training produces more capable and committed advocates for justice.
- Network-Building for Sustained Public Interest Engagementmethodology: network-building among public interest lawyersBy fostering connections among public interest law alumni, the foundation strengthens alignment with the school’s mission over time, because sustained professional networks reinforce identity, collaboration, and long-term commitment to social justice lawyering.
- Transformative Justice Frameworkmethodology: transformative justiceBy redefining justice through an equity lens and addressing root causes of injustice, the school advances systemic change rather than symptom-level interventions, because legal education and practice must transform underlying structures to expand meaningful access to justice.