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Dc Bar Pro Bono Center

EIN 52-1574217 · Washington, DC

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong96 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

The D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center provides free legal services through pro bono lawyers to low-income individuals, nonprofit organizations and small businesses primarily in the District of Columbia. The Pro Bono Center also recruits and trains lawyers and law firms to provide business and transactional legal services to community-based non-profit organizations and small, disadvantaged businesses.

Income
$6.4 million
Spending
$6.1 million
Spent on programs
82%
Reserves
13 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 93%
Employees
39
Volunteers
1,500
Highest pay
$737,859, executive vice president

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 96 out of 100.

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 13.0 months of spending.

  • Debt

    16 of 20

    It owes 18% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 4% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 15% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    82% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100.

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    20 of 20 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, 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 (4)
  1. $1.1 million spent. Legal Assistance for Low-Income Individuals: The D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center recruits, trains, and supports volunteer lawyers who provide legal information, advice, and/or representation in housing, family law, public benefits, personal injury defense, bankruptcy, employment, immigration, future planning and probate, and consumer law matters. In FY25, the Center provided ongoing full representation to 259 new clients on civil legal matters. The Center also provided legal advice and referrals at community-based clinics where 764 individuals received legal assistance on a range of civil legal issues and an additional 465 individuals received assistance on immigration matters. Through the Landlord Tenant Legal Assistance Network, the Center conducted 3,379 intakes to be routed to network partners; and through the Family Law Assistance Network, the Center assisted 474 individuals in Superior Court domestic relations proceedings. Finally, the Center maintains Superior Court-based resource centers to serve pro se litigants in landlord-tenant matters. In FY25, these centers served 1,269 people.
  2. $668,390 spent. Nonprofit and Small Business (NPSB) Legal Assistance Programs: The NPSB Programs provide brief legal advice, legal training, and match nonprofit organizations and small business owners with pro bono counsel to meet their transactional and business law needs. In FY25, NPSB matched 35 nonprofits with ongoing pro bono counsel and provided 413 nonprofits with one-on-one brief advice via legal clinics and weekly Office Hours consultations. NPSB additionally served 658 small business owners throughout the year via its small business brief advice legal clinics. Finally, NPSB provided legal training to 2,356 nonprofit and small business representatives, and to the volunteer attorneys that assist them, on relevant business law topics.
  3. $655,521 spent. Online and Other Projects: In FY25, the Pro Bono Center provided digital services that included LawHelp.org/DC, a website that provides legal and referral information to the general public; the Legal Information Help Line, which provides recorded legal information 24 hours a day in multiple languages; and Probono.net/dc, a free online resource for pro bono lawyers and legal services attorneys with more than 12,000 registered users. In FY25, there were over 650,000 page views on LawHelp.org/DC and the Help Line answered 15,000 calls and emails.
  4. Outreach Services: In FY25, the D.C. Pro Bono Center participated in training sessions for 635 volunteer attorneys to prepare them to undertake pro bono assignments from various District of Columbia legal services providers. The trainings covered a variety of practice areas including bankruptcy, family, landlord-tenant, client-centered lawyering, and public benefits law.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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.

  2. 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 November 6, 2026.

  3. 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.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since September 1989.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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 November 4, 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.