Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut Inc. SLS empowers low-income people in Connecticut to obtain justice by providing tools to address their civil legal needs. SLS provides its clients with high volume brief or in-depth legal advice limited case intervention alternative referral services web-based assistance legal advice clinics pro bono direct representation and access to self-help legal educational materials.
- Income
- $5.4 million
- Spending
- $5.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 82%
- Reserves
- 1.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 83%
- Employees
- 39
- Volunteers
- 103
- Highest pay
- $218,518, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 54 out of 100. Higher than 20% of charities in its peer group (crime and legal services, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.1 months of spending.
Debt
2 of 20It owes 82% of what it owns.
Living within its means
12 of 15Income exceeded spending by 1% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 18% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1582% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 57% of charities in its peer group (crime and legal services, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2512 of 12 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (2)
- $3.8 million spent. SLS provides free civil legal assistance to residents of the State of Connecticut to the extent authorized by the Legal Services Corporation. The goal of SLS is to help clients gain a better understanding of their legal problem the legal system and how to achieve the best possible outcome for their legal issues. SLS is the first point of contact for thousands of low-income individuals and families who each year are seeking help with issues related to housing homelessness public benefits domestic violence and other family-related matters disability rights health care consumer finance fraud difficulties and unemployment or job-related matters.
- $569,960 spent. SLS operates an extensive pro bono program whereby volunteer attorneys in Connecticut provide free civil legal help to hundreds of individuals annually. The objective of this program is to leverage volunteers to increase SLS capacity to meet the need of our target population for free civil legal assistance and promote greater access to justice for those individuals and families living in poverty. This program operates several dynamic pro bono projects in which volunteers are provided with a variety of pro bono commitment options. The goal of this program is to empower clients to make informed decisions to resolve their legal problem follow through with the prescribed legal steps given them and achieve a long-term solution for improvement of their lives.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since February 1996.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.