2024-09-03T10:39:36-05:00 2023-12-31 882533599 WERSEN NONPROFIT CPAS LLC 4513 Lakeway Drive Bellingham WA 98229 990 2023-01-01 863134470 Skagit Legal Aid SKAG 3602308101 PO Box 2463 Mount Vernon WA 98273 Andrew Dugan Executive Director 3602308101 2024-09-03 1 0 Keaton Wersen CPA P01957642 3607709369 X 2023 2024-08-08 14:25:15Z Andrew Dugan PO Box 2463 Mount Vernon WA 98273 842606 0 X www.skagitlegalaid.org X 2021 WA To provide access to justice for low income and historically marginalized individuals. 8 8 11 80 0 0 530342 813125 0 0 33 123 -3144 4354 527231 817602 0 5000 0 0 423587 645943 0 0 48772 104562 146146 528149 797089 -918 20513 277954 302548 133538 137619 144416 164929 X To provide access to justice for low income and historically marginalized individuals through 1) providing free legal services to those persons who by reason of poverty and unable to effectively access the legal system, 2) promoting, and facilitating the provision of pro bono legal services, and 3) providing community education and instruction on legal issues affecting low income and marginalized communities. 0 0 680030 5000 General Civil Legal Services: Skagit Legal Aid expands access to the civil justice system for historically underserved communities and identifies and eliminates barriers that perpetuate injustice, poverty, and racism. We maximize our impact with limited resources through the delivery of effective and economical civil legal services affecting housing, family, health and financial security, and immigration. We believe that resolving unmet civil legal needs makes our community a more equitable, happier, healthier, and safer place to live and work. We prioritize our services to historically underrepresented communities in the greater Skagit Valley, including tenants at risk of homelessness, people without lawful immigration status, tribal communities, and justice involved individuals. Our geographic service area is a vast expanse of land stretching from the North Cascades Mountains to the islands of the Salish Sea.In 2023, our impact reached far and wide to improve the lives of the people we served. The year witnessed a surge in client engagement. We assisted nearly a thousand individuals across a spectrum of legal areas. This marked a pivotal moment, surpassing our organization's service records over the past decade. Notably, more than half of these cases addressed non-housing issues. Over two-thirds of our clients identified as black, indigenous, or people of color, with over 40% being immigrants without U.S. citizenship, and a quarter preferring Spanish or Mixteco. This reflects not only the breadth of our impact but also our dedication to serving the needs of underserved populations. Our commitment to the Indigenous, Hispanic, and Latino communities stands as a cornerstone of our mission. One of our most impactful and well-received initiatives is the weekly clinic hosted at the CCS Farmworker Center (FWC). Remarkably, almost a quarter of all clients served in 2023 initially connected with us through the FWC. Throughout the summer, our direct in-person outreach events at farms spanning Skagit, Whatcom, and San Juan Counties reached hundreds of predominantly Indigenous farmworkers, fostering essential connections within these communities. Our unique collaboration with El Consulado de Mxico en Seattle (Consulate) proved highly successful, facilitating the acquisition of identification documents for hundreds of local immigrants. Moreover, our dedicated immigration clinics in Mount Vernon and Bellingham played a crucial role in providing education and empowerment to a particularly vulnerable segment of northwest Washington.We undertook a multifaceted project aimed at enhancing the provision of culturally competent civil legal services to tribal members in the Skagit Valley. The project encompassed the stabilization of legal clinics on the Swinomish Reservation, engagement with other sovereign tribes in the region, and the creation of a tribal law externship program through Seattle University School of Law.In the realm of tenant defense, SLA strengthened our services in Skagit and San Juan Counties and played a pivotal role in closing gaps in Whatcom and Island Counties, ensuring equitable access to counsel for all tenants in northwest Washington. A notable achievement was the representation of over 400 tenants with nearly a quarter of these tenants involved in unlawful detainer proceedings. Through our direct participation with rental assistance, over 125 tenants received a collective $800,000.00 paid on their behalf to prevent homelessness. Bridging the gap between civil and criminal services was a continued focal point of our efforts this year Our initiatives resulted in a collective achievement of over a quarter of a million dollars in court debt relief for our clients.Furthermore, we successfully fully extended our services to encompass the neighboring islands, with a specific focus on San Juan County. The isolated geography of these islands exacerbates challenges related to poverty. After hosting an annual clinic on Orcas Island for two years, we took significant steps to establish a more comprehensive presence in San Juan County. This involved cultivating a meaningful relationship with the family resource center on San Juan Island and actively building trust within the local immigrant community, particularly those originating from Michoacan. 680030 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 X Andrew Dugan 3602308044 325 Pine Street Suite A Mount Vernon WA 98273 Gail Smith Chairperson 2.00 X X 0 0 0 Heather Webb Chairperson 1.00 X X 0 0 0 Annalise Martucci Vice-Chairperson 3.00 X X 0 0 0 Laurence Blakely Secretary 2.00 X X 0 0 0 Kat Lohman Treasurer 1.00 X X 0 0 0 Marta Martinez Olivera Board Member 1.00 X 0 0 0 Nathaniel Block Board Member 1.00 X 0 0 0 Andrew Schuh Board Member 1.00 X 0 0 0 Scott Thomas Board Member 1.00 X 0 0 0 Heather Shand Board Member 1.00 X 0 0 0 Wendy Wall Board Member 1.00 X 0 0 0 Andrew Dugan Executive Director 40.00 X 89123 0 7461 89123 0 7461 0 0 0 0 0 36148 577460 199517 813125 123 123 29358 36148 25004 4354 4354 817602 0 0 4477 5000 5000 96584 32196 32194 32194 472991 461451 5770 5770 4037 4037 19291 19291 53040 47692 2674 2674 540 540 21097 21097 3758 3758 9658 8438 610 610 15566 14218 711 637 23911 20891 1510 1510 23737 20739 1499 1499 17017 14869 1074 1074 7687 6721 483 483 783 685 49 49 1729 1511 109 109 Taxes and licenses 5297 5297 Program expenses 4934 4934 10432 7762 507 2163 797089 680030 68287 48772 67361 55099 35816 35939 72917 126136 1800 4825 3918 1511 3190 2407 96870 78142 277954 302548 36187 58038 97351 79581 133538 137619 X 144416 164929 144416 164929 277954 302548 20513 0 X 1 X 0 1 0 X 267954 530342 813125 1611421 267954 530342 813125 1611421 1611421 7 33 123 163 1611584 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 3918 1511 2407 2407 ROU asset 76342 Lease deposit 1800 78142 Lease liability 79581 79581 Justice Gala 65506 36148 29358 638 8300 8080 200 3798 3989 65506 36148 29358 638 8300 8080 200 3798 3989 25005 4353 Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 11b The Form 990 is reviewed and approved by the entire board before filing with the IRS. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 15a The Board of Directors determines the Executive Director's compensation based upon available financial resources and conducting a salary comparision of other legal service providers. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, line 19 These documents are available upon request.