Skip to the page content
Your donations
Passes our checks

California Access to Justice Commission

EIN 84-3344697 · Carmichael, CA

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthWeak43 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

The California Access to Justice Commission advances access to justice for all Californians by expanding resources, removing barriers, and developing innovations so everyone can effectively and efficiently resolve their civil legal issues.

Income
$7.2 million
Spending
$7.1 million
Spent on programs
94%
Reserves
0.5 months of spending
Largest source of income
government grants, 91%
Employees
0
Volunteers
50

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

Weak: 43 out of 100.

  • Reserves

    4 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 0.5 months of spending.

  • Debt

    2 of 20

    It owes 92% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    12 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 1% of income.

  • Income trend

    10 of 15

    Income fell 0% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    94% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 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

    29 of 29 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.

  • 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. $6.1 million spent. With funding from the State Budget Act, our Infrastructure and Innovation grants strengthen legal aid nonprofits and start new forms of legal help for low-income Californians. Year 3 (one-year grants beginning April 2023) & Year 4 (one-year grants beginning April 2024) and Supplemental (one-year grants beginning May 2025) were each awarded $4,875,000 in four quarterly installments spanning the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, with 44, 49, and 43 grants respectively. The projects funded by the grants provided legal help to thousands of Californians. Reports on the grants are available at https://calatj.org/grants/legal-aid-infrastructure-innovation-grants.
  2. $466,199 spent. Responding to the need highlighted by the Legal Aid Association of California and in our report about the crisis in legal aid recruitment and retention (https://calatj.org/publications/legal-aid-recruitment-retention-and-diversity), the Legislature in 2023 authorized legal aid programs to use Interest on Lawyers Trust Account and Equal Access Funds for a tax-advantaged Loan Repayment Assistance Program administered by CalATJ. CalATJ obtained its license from the Department of Financial Protection and innovation in mid-April, and began operations before June 30, 2024. As of June 30, 2025, fourteen contributing legal aid organizations had donated over $650,000 ($354,571 in the calendar year) and nominated 300 participants to receive distributions. As federal loan interest rates and monthly payments increase, LRAP programs are all the more important.
  3. $13,268 spent. - We released a report about the current challenges California litigants face because too few court reporters are employed by trial courts.(https://calatj.org/publications/a2r ) One million Superior Court hearings a year are conducted without providing an official transcript. The report described the rights and interests at stake, the harms this causes, and options for addressing it. It has been widely quoted in submissions to the ongoing writ proceeding on the issue in the California Supreme Court, FVAP v. Superior Courts, S288176, and in submissions to the Legislature regarding a bill to allow greater use of electronic recording subject to conditions. - LRS/Nonprofit Collaborations Last year, CalATJ supported the proposed amendments to Business and Professions Code Section 6155. The amendments permit nonprofits to participate in lawyer referrals, under a new exception to the prohibition against an entity that is not a Certified Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) from making referrals to specific lawyers. CalATJ has provided the State Bar with a report that provides suggested regulations, as well as suggestions, and questions for further consideration on ways for LRSs to enhance access to justice for Californians through nonprofit collaborations, and we discussed enhancements that do not depend on such collaborations.- Approximately 15 other programmatic activities plus roughly 40 committee meetings. See https://calatj.org/news/read-the-california-access-to-justice-commissions-2024-annual-report
  4. $4,103 spent. With a grant from the California Lawyers Foundation, we have developed a project, Your Life, Your Plan, to connect individuals with serious health conditions referred by health care providers to County Law Librarians, and then to pro bono and affordable lawyers to locate and complete the following documents (as needed): Advance Health-care Directive, Psychiatric Advance Directive, Statutory Will, Simple Revocable Trust, Power of Attorney.

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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 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 September 7, 2026.

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

    Recognized by the IRS since April 2020.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 October 7, 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.