A Legacy of Equality Leadership and Organizing
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
LELO strives to empower low-income workers of color, recent immigrants and women workers to assert their rights, improve their working conditions and gain a voice in their workplaces, trade unions and communities, in the U.S. and across the globe.
- Income
- $415,878
- Spending
- $472,405
- Spent on programs
- 93%
- Reserves
- 8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 74%
- Employees
- 8
- Volunteers
- 120
- Highest pay
- $84,075, 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: 67 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (crime and legal services, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 8.0 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 14% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 29% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1593% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 2 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
Fair: 61 out of 100. Higher than 27% of charities in its peer group (crime and legal services, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 255 of 5 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no 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
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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 (4)
- $177,268 spent. King County Relicensing Program: LELO offers free service to assist low-income drivers with license suspended in Third Degree (DWLS3D) and who are interested in recover their driver's license. The program accepts any low income person who has unpaid tickets in King County District Court. The DWLS3D help individuals to navigate the court system, educate them on their rights and advocate for themselves. LELO assisted clients' appeals in both the Washington State and out of the state courts and received very affordable payment outcomes. In 2024, the Relicensing Program enrolled 84 clients and 27 regained their driver's licenses.
- $77,530 spent. The Western Sahara Project organized four educational sessions about the realities faced by the population in Western Sahara. Each session focused on explaining, from different perspectives, how Morocco's occupation of Sahrawi territory has affected their human, civil, cultural, and environmental rights. The speakers at these discussions included diplomats, university professors, organizers, and members of our community. Also, the Project produced a digital publication with the latest information on the situation in Western Sahara. Additionally, by social media sent updates on the ongoing struggle of the Sahrawi people.
- $75,500 spent. APALA: Collaboration with The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO; APALA is the first and only national organization of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (APPI), most of who are union members. APALA works with LELO as a partner to advance workers, immigrant and civil rights. APALA and LELO have played a unique role addressing the work place issues of their 660,000 union members and serving as a bridge between organized labor and the APPI community. The collaboration between APALA and LELO is dedicated to promoting political education, empowerment and leadership of AAPIs within labor movement and APA community. LELO assisted APALA in organizing six educational sessions by Zoom and a National Conference in Seattle.
- $107,739 spent. General Programs, City Food Equity, City Pre-filing, History Project, Mexico Solidarity, Bantayog, and other programs: LELO's Food Equity Program (FEP) has been successfully planned, funded, and implemented a grassroots effort to provide our multi-racial community with organic vegetables and fruits, methods to prepare healthy foods, knowledge of how to take care of our health and education on why food sovereignty is as an alternative to the food system that we currently have. The Food Equity Program distributed 75 boxes of organic produce and fruit every week from June to September, 2024. Also, every other week we have educational sessions to talk about important issues related to our food and the importance of taking care of our environment. We worked to organize our communities to ensure that our people have access to healthy food. Pre-filing Diversion Program. This program provides a service-based alternative to criminal charges for people who have been ticketed by Seattle Police Department for Driving with a License Suspended 3 (DWLS 3). In 2024 the Pre-filing Diversion Program enrolled 32 clients and 4 regained their driver's license.
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? Worth knowing.
Status was revoked on May 15, 2016 for not filing returns for three years. The IRS now lists it as tax-exempt again.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 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 2024.
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 August 1974.
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 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.