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Non-profit

Northwest Justice Project (NJP)

Website:

www.nwjustice.org/home
Location:

Seattle, WA
Tax ID:

91-1687791
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $42,312,264
Expenses: $42,380,096
Assets: $11,743,865
Type:

Non-Profit
Formation:

1995
President:

Sean Waite

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Northwest Justice Project (NJP) is a mostly government-funded nonprofit founded in 1995 that provides free legal services and income maintenance assistance to those in need in Washington state. 1

NJP provides legal advice and representation, community partnerships, and education to help low-income clients protect income and access health care, education, and other basic needs. Specialized units have been established including Campesina Digna, Elder and Vulnerable Adult Advocates King County, Eviction Prevention Unit, Farmworker Unit, Foreclosure Prevention Unit, Medical-Legal Partnerships, Native American Unit, and Reentry Initiated through Services and Education (RISE) Project. 2

NJP claims 19 offices across Washington state staffed by more than 130 attorneys. 3

Activities

Northwest Justice Project provides Coordinated Legal Education Advice and Referral (CLEAR), a statewide centralized hotline providing access to free legal help, legal services, and referrals to NJP offices and attorneys around the state. The group also provides Washington Law Help, a public website that hosts a library of legal resources and do-it-yourself forms. 4

In 2022, NJP teamed with Cocoon House, a non-profit youth shelter funded by the Border Family Foundation and left-of-center Raikes Foundation, to host a mobile legal clinic to help homeless children find a guardian who could provide them with permission to access youth housing. 5

NJP along with Barnard, Iglitzin & Lavitt LLP, obtained an agreement between five plaintiffs and WP Packing to pay $265,000 in lost compensation, set up a hotline, and discipline supervisors accused of discrimination and bullying workers. 6

NJP formed Reentry Initiated through Services and Education Project (RISE) to provide civil legal services to incarcerated mothers to advance reunification of families following release from prison. 7

Race Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI), an initiative of NJP, provides legal organizations with an organizational race equity tool kit designed to assess practices, policies, and culture related to race-based equal outcomes. REJI also provides on demand webinars on topics that relate to equity, justice, and structural racism and organizational change required to support those topics. 8

Northwest Justice Project is a member and supporter of Alliance for Equal Justice (AEJ) a statewide organization which provides a network of volunteer attorney programs and specialty legal providers. 9

Funding

In 2022, of Northwest Justice Project’s over $48 million in total revenues, over $45 million comes from government grants. 10 Agencies funding the organization include the Washington-legislature-funded Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA), Congressionally funded Legal Services Corporation (LSC), Washington Department of Commerce Office of Crime Victim Advocacy (subcontracted through Office of Civil Legal Aid), and Legal Foundation of Washington (LFW), which was established by the Washington Supreme Court to administer the Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (IOLTA). LFW is also the primary funder for Alliance for Equal Justice. 11

MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, granted $5.5 million to NJP from her non-profit Yield Giving. 12

Grants

Northwest Justice Project granted $3,451,500 to the Legal Foundation of Washington, a non-profit that distributes Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) funds to other legal aid organizations that provide equal civil justice for low-income Washington State residents. 13

People

Sean Waite is president of Northwest Justice Project, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, and former assistant attorney general in the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, Criminal Justice Division. 14

Cesar Torres is executive director of NJP and former deputy director on Essex Newark Legal Services. 15

References

  1. Northwest Justice Project. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://nwjustice.org/about.
  2. Northwest Justice Project. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://nwjustice.org/specialized-units#7.
  3. “Northwest Justice Project.” Northwest Justice Project – GuideStar Profile. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/91-1687791.
  4. Northwest Justice Project. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://nwjustice.org/about.
  5. “NJP Annual Reports – 2022 NJP Annual Report – Page 8-9 – Created with Publitas.Com.” Publitas. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://view.publitas.com/njp-annual-reports/2022-njp-annual-report/page/8-9.
  6. “NJP Annual Reports – 2022 NJP Annual Report – Page 2-3 – Created with Publitas.Com.” Publitas. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://view.publitas.com/njp-annual-reports/2022-njp-annual-report/page/2-3.
  7. Northwest Justice Project. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://nwjustice.org/about.
  8. “NJP Annual Reports – 2022 NJP Annual Report – Page 8-9 – Created with Publitas.Com.” Publitas. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://view.publitas.com/njp-annual-reports/2022-njp-annual-report/page/8-9.
  9. “Northwest Justice Project.” Northwest Justice Project – GuideStar Profile. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/91-1687791.
  10. Northwest Justice Project, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part VIII https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/911687791/202303039349301605/full
  11. Northwest Justice Project. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://nwjustice.org/funding.
  12. “Gifts.” Yield Giving. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://yieldgiving.com/gifts?essay=20231206.
  13. “Northwest Justice Project” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990) 2021, Part II, line (a)(1).
  14. Northwest Justice Project. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://nwjustice.org/northwest-justice-board-directors.
  15. Northwest Justice Project. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://nwjustice.org/staff.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: October 1, 1995

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Dec Form 990 $42,312,264 $42,380,096 $11,743,865 $6,021,878 N $42,061,065 $250,541 $658 $311,156
    2020 Dec Form 990 $36,418,724 $35,613,287 $11,784,826 $5,995,007 N $36,233,015 $169,218 $16,491 $314,157
    2019 Dec Form 990 $33,065,100 $32,296,506 $10,188,424 $5,204,042 N $32,649,454 $333,063 $82,583 $290,149 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $27,749,827 $28,405,146 $9,793,782 $3,580,783 Y $27,521,773 $182,294 $45,760 $312,814 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $25,164,214 $24,831,261 $10,173,883 $3,305,565 N $24,835,282 $320,692 $8,240 $274,229 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $24,475,746 $22,814,348 $9,066,009 $2,530,644 N $24,270,096 $204,499 $1,151 $263,151 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $23,023,160 $23,019,010 $7,421,260 $2,547,293 N $22,924,373 $98,621 $166 $318,389 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $22,506,634 $22,519,443 $7,336,009 $2,466,192 N $22,170,344 $336,207 $83 $264,965 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $21,288,573 $20,991,810 $7,241,888 $2,359,262 N $21,002,728 $285,716 $129 $261,330 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $20,248,535 $19,899,687 $6,835,555 $2,249,692 N $19,957,649 $290,754 $132 $259,691 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $19,810,459 $19,049,256 $6,631,739 $2,394,724 N $19,657,375 $153,053 $31 $267,885 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Northwest Justice Project (NJP)

    401 2ND AVE S STE 407
    Seattle, WA 98104-3811