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← NATIONAL CENTER FOR YOUTH LAW

Form 990 for tax year 2025

Filed by NATIONAL CENTER FOR YOUTH LAW.

Totals

Total revenue
$15,871,698
Total expenses
$17,337,828
Contributions and grants received
$15,090,421
Grants paid
$1,226,334
Program service revenue
$220,310
Investment income
$553,329
Other revenue
$7,638
Total assets, end of year
$20,838,374
Total liabilities, end of year
$1,513,115
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$19,325,259
Program services expenses (Part IX)
$13,580,004
Management and general expenses
$2,201,876
Fundraising expenses
$1,555,948
Program service expenses (Part III)
$13,580,004

Program services were 78.3% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Revenue

Part VIII, the statement of revenue.

  • 1e · Government grants (contributions)

    $1,919,296

  • 1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants

    $13,171,125

  • 1g · Noncash contributions included above

    $250,000

  • 2a · Program service revenue: Attorney Fees

    total $220,310 · related or exempt $220,310

  • 3 · Investment income

    total $505,822 · excluded $505,822

  • 6a · Gross rents

    real property $7,638

  • 6b · Less rental expenses

    real property $0

  • 6c · Rental income or loss

    real property $7,638

  • 6d · Net rental income or loss

    total $7,638 · excluded $7,638

  • 7a · Gross sales of assets other than inventory

    securities $4,138,062

  • 7b · Less cost or other basis and sales expenses

    securities $4,090,555

  • 7c · Gain or loss

    securities $47,507

  • 7d · Net gain or loss

    total $47,507 · excluded $47,507

Functional expenses

Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.

  • 1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments

    total $1,226,334 · program services $1,226,334

  • 5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees

    total $507,247 · management and general $399,914 · fundraising $107,333

  • 7 · Other salaries and wages

    total $9,511,941 · program services $7,850,646 · management and general $724,031 · fundraising $937,264

  • 8 · Pension plan contributions

    total $366,396 · program services $308,987 · management and general $23,148 · fundraising $34,261

  • 9 · Other employee benefits

    total $1,492,681 · program services $1,232,113 · management and general $114,963 · fundraising $145,605

  • 10 · Payroll taxes

    total $761,781 · program services $607,092 · management and general $74,840 · fundraising $79,849

  • 11b · Fees: legal

    total $3,180 · management and general $3,180

  • 11c · Fees: accounting

    total $38,500 · management and general $38,500

  • 11g · Fees: other

    total $1,479,427 · program services $961,932 · management and general $409,483 · fundraising $108,012

  • 12 · Advertising and promotion

    total $6,134 · program services $5,514 · management and general $375 · fundraising $245

  • 13 · Office expenses

    total $135,822 · program services $81,135 · management and general $45,361 · fundraising $9,326

  • 14 · Information technology

    total $601,306 · program services $414,811 · management and general $134,409 · fundraising $52,086

  • 16 · Occupancy

    total $434,949 · program services $323,908 · management and general $66,239 · fundraising $44,802

  • 17 · Travel

    total $478,489 · program services $393,227 · management and general $78,196 · fundraising $7,066

  • 19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings

    total $53,162 · program services $26,145 · management and general $8,432 · fundraising $18,585

  • 22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization

    total $3,832 · program services $2,998 · management and general $692 · fundraising $142

  • 23 · Insurance

    total $62,428 · program services $51,712 · management and general $4,316 · fundraising $6,400

  • 24a · Other expenses: Dues, licenses & fees

    total $82,015 · program services $25,034 · management and general $56,896 · fundraising $85

  • 24b · Other expenses: Staff develop./recruit.

    total $72,041 · program services $53,455 · management and general $14,768 · fundraising $3,818

  • 24c · Other expenses: Other expense

    total $20,163 · program services $14,961 · management and general $4,133 · fundraising $1,069

Balance sheet

Part X, book values.

  • 1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing

    beginning of year $521,897 · end of year $252,666

  • 2 · Savings and temporary cash investments

    beginning of year $4,485,575 · end of year $4,050,533

  • 3 · Pledges and grants receivable

    beginning of year $4,127,072 · end of year $7,093,661

  • 4 · Accounts receivable

    beginning of year $908,261 · end of year $253,821

  • 9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges

    beginning of year $305,381 · end of year $404,649

  • 10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis

    $735,160

  • 10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation

    $735,160

  • 10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net

    beginning of year $3,832 · end of year $0

  • 11 · Investments: publicly traded securities

    beginning of year $12,134,309 · end of year $8,707,834

  • 15 · Other assets

    beginning of year $293,800 · end of year $75,210

  • 17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses

    beginning of year $1,668,671 · end of year $1,480,569

  • 25 · Other liabilities

    beginning of year $251,133 · end of year $32,546

  • 27 · Net assets without donor restrictions

    beginning of year $12,608,515 · end of year $10,525,120

  • 28 · Net assets with donor restrictions

    beginning of year $8,251,808 · end of year $8,800,139

Mission and programs · 2025

Mission

For over 50 years, the National Center for Youth Law has put children and youth at the heart of the pursuit of justice. Guided by their insights, we use litigation, policy change, partnerships, and research to ensure that every child's rights are protected and every voice is heard.

  • Education: Through research, collaboration, and advocacy, we work with students, educators, and public-agency partners to turn schools into positive, compassionate environments where every student - especially those in the foster system, the justice system, or those experiencing homelessness - belongs and is respected. We challenge discriminatory discipline, fight to strengthen education services, and provide cutting-edge research so that students' voices and experiences guide the decisions that shape their learning.

    Expenses $3,616,047

  • Children's Health & Wellbeing: National Center for Youth Law's ("NCYL's") health & wellbeing work improves the lives of children and youth across issue areas. Led by youth with lived experience, our Reproductive Health Equity Project for Foster Youth (RHEP) tears down policy barriers that keep young people from accessing sexual and reproductive health care services. Our advocacy to help children and youth flourish includes strengthening approaches to mental health. NCYL also works to transform the child welfare system to better support youth and families. With respect to combating commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth, our collaborative work shifts the response from criminalization to healing and centering the voices of survivors in policy discussions. A key part of NCYL's work in this area is also training providers, advocates, and communities on laws that protect adolescents' confidentiality, ensuring that every youth can seek help for their physical and mental well-being without fear or stigma.

    Expenses $3,489,633 · Grants $295,084

  • Youth Justice & Equity: Together with youth, their families, community leaders, and system officials, NCYL is working to create a justice system that fosters growth rather than punishment. We spearhead campaigns to erase burdensome juvenile fines and fees in states across the country, and through coalition building, communication strategies, training and technical assistance, work to build a justice landscape where all young people can heal and thrive.

    Expenses $3,191,771 · Grants $931,250

  • Legal Strategies: NCYL defends the rights of children across the country, and our lawsuits focus on bringing about systemic change in each of our core issue areas. At a time when democratic institutions and civil rights protections are under increasing strain, NCYL's legal work helps hold public systems accountable to the children and families they are meant to serve.

    Expenses $2,067,931 · Revenue $220,310

  • Children's Human Rights & Dignity: NCYL believes that no circumstance strips a child of their inherent dignity, whether that circumstance is migration, family crisis, or poverty. As co-counsel in Flores, NCYL represents children in federal immigration custody, advocating for humane conditions and reuniting children with their families in accordance with the law. We also lead efforts to dismantle practices that harm children in the foster system, fight to ensure that youth have access to health care and education, and promote youth-centered, community-centered, and family-centered policies that preserve families and reduce reliance on the foster system.

    Expenses $1,175,052

  • Other small programs unrelated to the significant programs currently listed.

    Expenses $39,570

As filed on the 2025 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

  • Sophie Fanelli

    President

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Denise Forte

    Vice President

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Mary Bissell

    Treasurer (end 7/25)

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Mohammad Barkeshli

    Treasurer (start 7/25)

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Luis Vergara

    Secretary

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Lex Brainerd

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Preetha Chakrabarti

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • June Dipchand

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Mishaela Duran

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Frank Figgers

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Jason Okonofua

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Lisa Rieger

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Lori Schechter

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Sandeep Solanki

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Mona Tawatao

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Shakti Belway

    Executive Director

    Total calculated
    $357,777
    From this org
    $322,842
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $34,935
    Hours/week
    37.5

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $322,842
    Bonus
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $13,010
    Nontaxable benefits
    $21,925
    Filer's total
    $357,777

  • Karla James

    Dep. Dir. Finance & Ops. (end 1/25)

    Total calculated
    $149,470
    From this org
    $145,967
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $3,503
    Hours/week
    37.5

  • Jason Sutton

    Senior Controller

    Total calculated
    $234,253
    From this org
    $194,004
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $40,249
    Hours/week
    37.5

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $194,004
    Bonus
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $8,037
    Nontaxable benefits
    $32,212
    Filer's total
    $234,253

  • Neha Desai

    Senior Director, Immigration

    Total calculated
    $225,411
    From this org
    $214,835
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $10,576
    Hours/week
    37.5

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $214,286
    Bonus
    $549
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $8,056
    Nontaxable benefits
    $2,520
    Filer's total
    $225,411

  • Rebecca Gudeman

    Senior Director, Health

    Total calculated
    $249,550
    From this org
    $202,655
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $46,895
    Hours/week
    37.5

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $202,655
    Bonus
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $8,250
    Nontaxable benefits
    $38,645
    Filer's total
    $249,550

  • Beulah Bloxom

    Senior Director, Human Resources

    Total calculated
    $220,134
    From this org
    $202,511
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $17,623
    Hours/week
    37.5

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $202,511
    Bonus
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $8,007
    Nontaxable benefits
    $9,616
    Filer's total
    $220,134

  • Francis Guzman

    Senior Director, Youth Justice

    Total calculated
    $220,661
    From this org
    $201,457
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $19,204
    Hours/week
    37.5

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $201,457
    Bonus
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $8,049
    Nontaxable benefits
    $11,155
    Filer's total
    $220,661

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Answered yes

  • 3 · Independent compensation consultant
  • 3 · Form 990 of other organizations
  • 3 · Compensation survey or study
  • 3 · Approval by the board or compensation committee
  • 4a · Severance or change-of-control payment
  • 7 · Other non-fixed payments

Answered no

  • 4b · Supplemental nonqualified retirement plan
  • 4c · Equity-based compensation arrangement
  • 5a · Pay contingent on this organization's revenues
  • 5b · Pay contingent on a related organization's revenues
  • 6a · Pay contingent on this organization's net earnings
  • 6b · Pay contingent on a related organization's net earnings
  • 8 · Paid under the initial-contract exception

The filer's explanations (Part III)

Part I, Line 4a
Karla James left in January 2025 and received a severance payment of $119,628.
Part I, Line 7
Bonuses are at the discretion of, and must be approved by, the Executive Director. The salary and any bonuses for the Executive Director are set and voted on by the Board of Directors.

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Provenance

Return type
form_990
Tax year
2025
Filed
27 July 2026
IRS schema version
2025v4.2
Source object
202632089349300048

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.