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← SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIES LAW CENTER

Form 990 for tax year 2024

Filed by SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIES LAW CENTER.

Totals

Total revenue
$6,374,044
Total expenses
$5,215,729
Contributions and grants received
$6,092,165
Grants paid
$2,192,002
Program service revenue
$39,150
Investment income
$232,180
Other revenue
$10,549
Total assets, end of year
$9,945,547
Total liabilities, end of year
$270,666
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$9,674,881
Program services expenses (Part IX)
$4,196,633
Management and general expenses
$777,055
Fundraising expenses
$242,041
Program service expenses (Part III)
$4,196,633

Program services were 80.5% 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.

  • 1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants

    $6,092,165

  • 2a · Program service revenue: Consulting

    total $32,600 · related or exempt $32,600

  • 2b · Program service revenue: Workshop & events

    total $6,550 · related or exempt $6,550

  • 3 · Investment income

    total $232,180 · excluded $232,180

  • 4 · Income from investment of tax-exempt bond proceeds

    total $0

  • 5 · Royalties

    total $0

  • 6a · Gross rents

    real property $7,200

  • 6c · Rental income or loss

    real property $7,200

  • 6d · Net rental income or loss

    total $7,200 · excluded $7,200

  • 7d · Net gain or loss

    total $0

  • 8c · Net income from fundraising events

    total $0

  • 9c · Net income from gaming

    total $0

  • 10c · Net income from sales of inventory

    total $0

  • 11a · Other revenue: Other

    total $3,349 · excluded $3,349

  • 11e · Other revenue, total

    $3,349

Functional expenses

Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.

  • 1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments

    total $2,192,002 · program services $2,192,002

  • 2 · Grants to domestic individuals

    total $0

  • 3 · Grants to foreign organizations and individuals

    total $0

  • 4 · Benefits paid to or for members

    total $0

  • 5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees

    total $554,705 · program services $355,308 · management and general $148,589 · fundraising $50,808

  • 6 · Compensation of disqualified persons

    total $0

  • 7 · Other salaries and wages

    total $1,629,354 · program services $1,078,735 · management and general $401,695 · fundraising $148,924

  • 8 · Pension plan contributions

    total $0

  • 9 · Other employee benefits

    total $197,708 · program services $126,589 · management and general $53,163 · fundraising $17,956

  • 10 · Payroll taxes

    total $157,254 · program services $102,925 · management and general $39,926 · fundraising $14,403

  • 11a · Fees: management

    total $0

  • 11b · Fees: legal

    total $0

  • 11c · Fees: accounting

    total $74,258 · management and general $74,258

  • 11d · Fees: lobbying

    total $0

  • 11e · Fees: professional fundraising services

    total $0

  • 11f · Fees: investment management

    total $0

  • 11g · Fees: other

    total $135,187 · program services $135,187

  • 12 · Advertising and promotion

    total $416 · program services $416

  • 13 · Office expenses

    total $53,682 · program services $35,013 · management and general $13,785 · fundraising $4,884

  • 14 · Information technology

    total $28,629 · program services $8,651 · management and general $19,978

  • 15 · Royalties

    total $0

  • 16 · Occupancy

    total $55,314 · program services $36,354 · management and general $13,894 · fundraising $5,066

  • 17 · Travel

    total $44,166 · program services $44,166

  • 18 · Travel or entertainment for public officials

    total $0

  • 19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings

    total $56,607 · program services $56,607

  • 20 · Interest

    total $0

  • 21 · Payments to affiliates

    total $0

  • 22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization

    total $460 · management and general $460

  • 23 · Insurance

    total $18,785 · program services $10,734 · management and general $8,051

  • 24a · Other expenses: Dues, license & service fees

    total $17,202 · program services $13,946 · management and general $3,256

  • 24e · All other expenses

    total $0

Balance sheet

Part X, book values.

  • 1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing

    beginning of year $607,875 · end of year $423,354

  • 2 · Savings and temporary cash investments

    beginning of year $7,432,776 · end of year $9,124,349

  • 3 · Pledges and grants receivable

    beginning of year $602,500 · end of year $351,000

  • 4 · Accounts receivable

    beginning of year $12,010 · end of year $6,901

  • 5 · Loans and receivables from officers and key people

    end of year $0

  • 6 · Loans and receivables from disqualified persons

    end of year $0

  • 7 · Other notes and loans receivable

    end of year $0

  • 8 · Inventories for sale or use

    end of year $0

  • 9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges

    beginning of year $38,123 · end of year $38,103

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

    $2,760

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

    $920

  • 10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net

    beginning of year $2,300 · end of year $1,840

  • 11 · Investments: publicly traded securities

    end of year $0

  • 12 · Investments: other securities

    end of year $0

  • 13 · Investments: program-related

    end of year $0

  • 14 · Intangible assets

    end of year $0

  • 15 · Other assets

    end of year $0

  • 17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses

    beginning of year $203,764 · end of year $191,366

  • 19 · Deferred revenue

    end of year $79,300

  • 27 · Net assets without donor restrictions

    beginning of year $1,749,332 · end of year $2,164,618

  • 28 · Net assets with donor restrictions

    beginning of year $6,742,488 · end of year $7,510,263

Mission and programs · 2024

Mission

We provide legal services, research, education, and advocacy to assist communities in building their own sustainable sources of food, water, housing, energy, jobs, and other aspects of thriving communities.

  • The Sustainable Economies Law Center engages in a wide range of activities to support the development of more sustainable economies. Here are some of the activities we conducted in 2023: - Continued to offer Legal Cafes/Cafecitos Legales online, thereby reaching 475+ coops, mutual aid groups, nonprofits, land trusts, and other social enterprises - Taught and wrote about legal structures for housing justice, land stewardship, land transfers, and land return through our Radical Real Estate Law School - Developed materials and taught workshops on: workplace democracy in nonprofits, democratizing land/housing/food/energy, the Black cooperative movement, democratizing money and finance, and cooperative legal resources generally - Provided legal, policy, financial, and operational support for emerging land stewardship organizations and immigrant-owned co-ops.

    Expenses $4,196,633 · Grants $2,192,002 · Revenue $39,150

As filed on the 2024 return.

Listed in Part VII

  • Tia Taruc-Myers

    Dir. of Legal Educ

    Total calculated
    $144,121
    From this org
    $120,137
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $23,984
    Hours/week
    30

  • Javier Roman-Nieves

    Co-Dir. - Minnow

    Total calculated
    $130,694
    From this org
    $123,838
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $6,856
    Hours/week
    30

  • Jay Cumberland

    Staff Attorney

    Total calculated
    $127,949
    From this org
    $116,250
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $11,699
    Hours/week
    30

  • Ricardo Nunez

    Dir. Econ Democrcy

    Total calculated
    $121,814
    From this org
    $112,023
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $9,791
    Hours/week
    30

  • Dorian Payan

    Dir Holst Lnd Rltn

    Total calculated
    $120,570
    From this org
    $110,144
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $10,426
    Hours/week
    30

  • Hasmik Geghamyan

    Secretary/Board

    Total calculated
    $116,984
    From this org
    $105,558
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $11,426
    Hours/week
    30

  • Alejandra Cruz

    Staff Attorney

    Total calculated
    $114,634
    From this org
    $112,595
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $2,039
    Hours/week
    30

  • Itzel Nuo

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $99,703
    From this org
    $92,630
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $7,073
    Hours/week
    30

  • Tobias Damm-Luhr

    Exec. Secretary

    Total calculated
    $96,971
    From this org
    $80,842
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $16,129
    Hours/week
    30

  • Sue Bennett

    CFO

    Total calculated
    $93,989
    From this org
    $93,989
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    30

  • Eunice Kwon

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Adrien Salazar

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Deseree Fontenot

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Farzana Serang

    Board Member

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

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.

Grants on this return

  • EB Permanent Real Estate Coop

    $1,000,000

    Community & economic empowerment

  • Repaired Nations

    $753,800

    Community & economic empowerment

  • US Fed of Worker Cooperatives

    $192,000

    Community & economic empowerment

  • NoBAWC

    $51,121

    Community & economic empowerment

  • People Power Solar Cooperativ

    $50,000

    Community & economic empowerment

  • Hasta Muerte Coffee

    $48,500

    Community & economic empowerment

  • Poor Magazine

    $40,000

    Housing development

  • Omprakash Inc

    $30,000

    WOOD Street Commons project

  • Resist Inc

    $10,000

    General Support

Provenance

Return type
form_990
Tax year
2024
Filed
7 November 2025
IRS schema version
2024v5.2
Source object
202513119349303641

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