Skip to the page content
Your donations
Passes our checks

Network on Women in Prison

EIN 94-3080408 · Emeryville, CA

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair60 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

LSPC organizes communities impacted by the criminal justice system and advocates to release incarcerated people, to restore human and civil rights and to reunify families and communities. We build public awareness of structural racism in policing, the courts and prison system and we advance racial and gender justice in all our work. Our strategies include legal support, trainings, advocacy, public education, grassroots mobilization and developing community partnerships.

Income
$4.7 million
Spending
$4.4 million
Spent on programs
85%
Reserves
2.6 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 63%
Employees
53
Volunteers
182
Highest pay
$151,750, executive dir.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 60 out of 100.

  • Reserves

    10 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 2.6 months of spending.

  • Debt

    10 of 20

    It owes 33% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 5% of income.

  • Income trend

    10 of 15

    Income fell 1% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    85% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 8 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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

    5 of 8 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 December 31, 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 (3)
  1. $1.5 million spent. AOUON, LSPC's grassroots organizing arm, has 9 active chapters in CA that engaged in the Abolish Bondage Collectively and Reject Slavery Campaigns,Cal Fresh and Climate Justice in 2025. Our CA chapters work on wide-ranging statewide campaigns and policy efforts to support legal and policy change that benefits incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. The AOUON Newspaper is the vehicle that currently incarcerated individuals use to become involved with AOUON and remain informed about our current campaign work. Our AOUON "inside membership grew to 2,120 members who receive the AOUON Newspaper monthly (as of 12/31/25. AOUON members engage with the Coalition for Family Unity (est and led by LSPC to challenge laws and policies that harm family bonds of incarcerated individuals) as a primary source of communication and mobilization through which families advance advocacy efforts seeking to establish visiting as a right for families. LSPC continues to maintain its Elder Freeman Policy Fellowship and in 2025 trained 4 formerly incarcerated fellows in grassroots organizing. We also organized our annual Quest For Democracy day bringing together over 500 system-impacted people to advocate directly with legislature for policy changes.
  2. $1.2 million spent. LSPC's policy team leads policy initiatives at the local and statewide level. In 2025 they conducted legal research, collected and analyzed information on the needs of affected populations, designed policy solutions, and communicated with legislators and their staff, admin officials and other stakeholders. LSPC participated in 24 coalitions ranging from financial advocacy to child welfare. LSPC employed 4 Policy Fellows this year to support the legal and policy teams and supported the AOUON organizers with the Quest for Democracy event partnering with over 20 organizations working to end Mass Incarceration. LSPC's legal team conducted impact litigation, monitored settlements, and provided numerous legal trainings and tech assistance consultation to Qualified Legal Service Providers. LSPC responded to over 3500 letters from incarcerated people seeking legal resource materials and other info. East Bay Family defenders supports a nationally growing defense and birth justice movement through four key programs, preventive legal advocacy, legal training, technical assistance and advocacy support. LSPC provided 60-65 legal consultations, helped to launch a new pro bono partnership, referred over 300 callers to other organizations, LSPC created and disseminated a number of new resource materials through outreach and on LSPC website.
  3. $1.0 million spent. Legal Services for Prisoners with Children provides support to 7 fiscally-sponsored projects working on a variety of criminal and social justice change issues. Several chapters work on a variety of issues around employment and housing discrimination. In addition to coalition work with many organizations working on criminal justice reform, our sponsored projects work to include incarcerated people to have a voice in creating changes in the prison and jail systems in California. The CA Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) continues to support women's prisons advocating for parole release as well as monitoring inadequate health care services in the CA prison system. CCWP also publishes The Fire Inside newsletter that began publication in 1996 and is the longest continuous publication in the country dedicated to women and transgender prisoners. CCWP continues to provide mutual aid to women prisoners.. The Prison Activist Resource Center (PARC) continues to distribute, free of charge over a thousand resource manuals to prisoners, former prisoners and families, providing valuable resource information to people upon release.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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 October 13, 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 December 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 May 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 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.