Human Services (P99M) IRS Verified DX Registered 990 on File

COORDINATED ADVICE AND REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR LEGAL SERVICES

EIN: 36-3863573 · CHICAGO, IL 60601-2302 · United States · FY 2025 Data

3 out of 5 58 / 100 Based on 2+ years of filings

Financial strength (30%) 80/100

Reliability (20%) 55/100

Effectiveness (25%) 93/100

Impact (25%) No data yet

Financial data: FY 2025 · Scored 9/13/2026

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Mission Statement

CARPLS MISSION STATEMENT As Cook County’s legal assistance hotline, CARPLS strives to help lower income individuals address their legal needs in a timely and cost effective manner. Volunteer and staff attorneys accomplish this mission by providing (1) legal advice and information, (2) brief services to prevent and minimize litigation, (3) prompt referrals to appropriate legal, government and social service programs, and (4) educational and instructional materials to enable clients to address their own legal needs. By providing these services, CARPLS aims to increase access to justice, to streamline the legal services delivery system, to expand problem-solving options and to increase available legal resources for our clients by identifying gaps in services and advocating to fill those gaps.

Financial Overview — FY 2025

$6.0M

Total Revenue

$5.3M

Total Expenses

$4.1M

Net Assets

Employees

Revenue Sources

Expense Breakdown

Program Expense Ratio 85.9%

Fundraising Efficiency 267.1%

Operating Reserve 9.28x

Liability-to-Asset 13.0%

Revenue Diversification 97.7%

Executive Compensation $158K

Compared with Peers

FY 2025

Compared with 3,979 similar organizations (United States, Human Services, $1M–$10M in expenses), FY 2025.

This organization Middle half of peers (P25–P75) Peer median

Ratio	This org	Peer median	Position (P10 → P90)
Program expense ratio Program expenses / total expenses · higher is better	85.9%	85.4%	P10P90	Above median
Admin expense ratio Management and general / total expenses · lower is better	8.2%	11.5%	P10P90	Above median
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expenses / total expenses · lower is better	5.8%	0.5%	P10P90	Bottom quarter
Fundraising efficiency Fundraising expenses / gross fundraising income · lower is better	267.1%	140.2%	P10P90	Below median
Operating reserve Months of expenses covered by net assets · higher is better	9.3 mo	9.3 mo	P10P90	Below median
Liabilities to assets Total liabilities / total assets · lower is better	13.0%	12.0%	P10P90	Below median
Revenue concentration Share of revenue from the largest source · lower is better	97.7%	92.3%	P10P90	Below median
Revenue growth Year over year revenue growth	20.6%	5.5%	P10P90
Expense growth Year over year expense growth	13.0%	5.6%	P10P90
Surplus margin Surplus as a share of revenue	12.1%	2.7%	P10P90

Financial History

Year	Revenue	Expenses	Net Assets	Program %	Staff
2025	$6.0M	$5.3M	$4.1M	85.9%	68
2024	$5.0M	$4.7M	$3.3M	86.4%	63
2023	$4.2M	$4.2M	$2.9M	82.8%	54
2022	$4.4M	$4.1M	$2.8M	85.3%	51
2021	$3.3M	$3.4M	N/A	—	43

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Organization Details

EIN: 36-3863573
State: IL
City: CHICAGO
ZIP: 60601-2302
Classification: P99M
Category: Human Services
Rating: 3★
Coverage: A
Last Updated: Aug 2026
IRS Ruling Year: 1993
Foundation Code: 15
Form 990: On File

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CharityAI™ rates charities from 0 to 100 using public filings (IRS Form 990 and the equivalent registries outside the US) together with the information the charity itself provides on DonationX. Ratings are recalculated every quarter, without human bias, and shown as stars.

Four pillars

Financial strength30%

Program expense ratio, fundraising efficiency, operating reserves, liabilities and revenue diversification, compared with similar organizations.

Reliability20%

Standing with the registry, filing history, verification and how complete the profile is.

Effectiveness25%

How much goes to programs and how consistently the organization delivers them.

Impact25%

The outcomes the charity reports on DonationX: people served, cost per service and results.

Stars

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