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Brooklyn Defender Services

Organization summary

Type of Nonprofit

Designated as a Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn’t provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Category: Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy / Civil Rights, Advocacy for Specific Groups (NTEE)

Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

Summary charts: organization finances over time

Revenue
$68.1M (2022)

Expenses
$72.6M (2022)

Total Assets
$21.7M (2022)

Total Liabilities
$25.3M (2022)

Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2011 to 2022

Tax Filings by Year

Form 990 is an information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly with the IRS. Nonprofit Explorer has IRS digitized Form 990 data for filings processed in 2012 and later. If this organization filed an amended return, it may not be reflected below. Duplicate download links may indicate a resubmission or amendment to this organization's original return. Form 990 data is from the IRS.

Fiscal Year Ending June
2022

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$68,129,871
Expenses
$72,598,877
Net Income
-$4,469,006
Net Assets
-$3,652,910
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $68,128,499
100.0%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $1,372
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $388,219
0.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $242,313
0.3%
Other Salaries and Wages $45,285,990
62.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $21,679,240
Total Liabilities $25,332,150
Net Assets -$3,652,910
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Executive Director) $341,974 $0 $30,369
Laura Saft (Deputy Director) $260,774 $0 $26,283
Gemma Rogers (Chief Of Staff) $225,565 $0 $20,346
Lauren Shapiro (Managing Director, Family Defe) $218,193 $0 $19,978
Kwame Millar (Chief Operating Officer) $206,024 $0 $23,545
Denise Wirsig (Chief Program Officer) $196,374 $0 $37,476
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Cindi Giglio (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Andrea Bonina (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jeffrey Rona (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robert J Gunther (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jason Starr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$60,744,108
Expenses
$64,540,378
Net Income
-$3,796,270
Net Assets
$816,096
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $60,711,726
99.9%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$1,011
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $33,393
0.1%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $373,054
0.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $259,430
0.4%
Other Salaries and Wages $39,462,571
61.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $27,647,041
Total Liabilities $26,830,945
Net Assets $816,096
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Executive Director) $349,962 $0 $35,699
Laura Saft (Managing Director) $248,400 $0 $44,846
Lauren Shapiro (Director Of Family Defense Pra) $208,054 $0 $22,059
Gemma Rogers (Chief Of Staff) $199,012 $0 $32,131
Kwame Millar (Chief Operating Officer) $195,888 $0 $22,990
Linda Hoff (Deputy Managing Director) $185,762 $0 $9,288
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Cindi Elibott (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Andrea Bonina (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jeffrey Rona (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robert J Gunther (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jason Starr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2020

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$61,487,118
Expenses
$60,860,321
Net Income
$626,797
Net Assets
$4,612,366
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $61,326,195
99.7%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$36,327
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $197,250
0.3%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $369,885
0.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $6,500
0.0%
Other Salaries and Wages $35,872,935
58.9%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $15,157,863
Total Liabilities $10,545,497
Net Assets $4,612,366
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Executive Director) $295,200 $0 $42,320
Laura Saft (Managing Director) $238,300 $0 $47,044
Lauren Shapiro (Director Of Family Defense Pra) $204,300 $0 $24,287
Linda Hoff (Director Of Training) $176,500 $0 $8,825
Chauncey R Walker (Deputy Managing Director) $161,324 $0 $8,275
Michael Baum (Supervising Attorney) $158,100 $0 $52,960
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Cindi Elibott (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Suprotik Basu (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Andrea Bonina (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jeffrey Rona (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2019

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$49,123,086
Expenses
$48,542,555
Net Income
$580,531
Net Assets
$3,985,569
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $49,151,376
> 100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$28,290
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $335,713
0.7%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $28,687,159
59.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $12,744,079
Total Liabilities $8,758,510
Net Assets $3,985,569
Other
Reported conflict of interest transactions
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Executive Director) $292,700 $0 $32,166
Laura Saft (Deputy Director) $224,250 $0 $40,096
Lauren Shapiro (Director Of Family Defense Pra) $197,300 $0 $19,837
Linda Hoff (Director Of Training) $165,000 $0 $7,360
Paul Lieberman (Trail Supervisor) $157,471 $0 $6,650
Michael Baum (Supervising Attorney) $154,000 $0 $33,717
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Cindi Elibott Giglio (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Suprotik Basu (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jeffrey Rona (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robert J Gunther Jr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Andrea Bonina (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2018

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$42,110,112
Expenses
$42,055,526
Net Income
$54,586
Net Assets
$3,405,038
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $42,070,953
99.9%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$24,740
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $63,899
0.2%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $318,530
0.8%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $24,981,513
59.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $11,025,624
Total Liabilities $7,620,586
Net Assets $3,405,038
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Executive Director) $271,703 $0 $32,251
Laura Saft (Deputy Director) $200,879 $0 $39,901
Lauren Shapiro (Director Of Family Defense Pra) $190,004 $0 $19,609
Linda Hoff (Director Of Training) $159,000 $0 $11,450
Paul Lieberman (Trial Supervisor) $153,943 $0 $11,197
Michael Baum (Supervising Attorney) $150,500 $0 $37,382
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Cindi Elibott Giglio (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Suprotik Basu (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jeffrey Rona (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robert J Gunther Jr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Andrea Bonina (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2017

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$34,263,296
Expenses
$34,362,102
Net Income
-$98,806
Net Assets
$3,350,452
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $34,411,815
> 100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$148,519
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $478,647
1.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $21,128,340
61.5%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $8,848,627
Total Liabilities $5,498,175
Net Assets $3,350,452
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Executive Director) $262,244 $0 $29,720
Virginia B Curry (Chief Operating Officer) $216,413 $0 $8,939
Laura Saft (Managing Director) $193,011 $0 $35,049
Lauren Shapiro (Director Of Family Defense Practice) $184,000 $0 $17,863
Michael Baum (Supervising Attorney) $153,750 $0 $32,703
Paul Lieberman (Trial Supervisor) $150,892 $0 $11,175
Linda Hoff (Director Of Training) $147,500 $0 $11,263
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Cindi Elibott Giglio (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Suprotik Basu (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jeffrey Rona (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robert J Gunther Jr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Andrea Bonina (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2016

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$33,054,298
Expenses
$33,045,724
Net Income
$8,574
Net Assets
$3,449,258
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $33,072,496
> 100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$18,198
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $512,618
1.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $20,554,918
62.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,459,156
Total Liabilities $3,009,898
Net Assets $3,449,258
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Exec. Director) $254,602 $0 $30,810
Virginia B Curry (Chief Operating Officer) $188,711 $0 $19,778
Laura Saft (Managing Attorney) $187,665 $0 $35,541
Lauren Shapiro (Attorney) $176,808 $0 $19,607
Ed Mayr (Senior Attorney) $155,167 $0 $10,478
Marianne Yang (Attorney) $152,417 $0 $9,694
Paul Lieberman (Trial Supervisor) $149,575 $0 $9,552
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Cindi Elibott Giglio (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Jean Hegler (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Suprotik Basu (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jeffrey Rona (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robert J Gunther Jr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Andrea Bonina (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2015

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$30,466,090
Expenses
$29,949,380
Net Income
$516,710
Net Assets
$3,440,684
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $30,497,459
> 100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$31,369
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $493,555
1.6%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $18,338,809
61.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $6,581,968
Total Liabilities $3,141,284
Net Assets $3,440,684
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Exec. Director) $265,883 $0 $29,892
Virginia B Curry (Chief Operating Officer) $197,333 $0 $19,463
Laura Saft (Managing Attorney) $195,883 $0 $34,108
Lauren Shapiro (Attorney) $172,715 $0 $18,732
Ed Mayr (Senior Attorney) $155,910 $0 $10,266
Paul Lieberman (Trail Supervisor) $146,910 $0 $9,741
Alan Rosenberg (Attorney) $143,520 $0 $31,230
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Anne Shields (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Jeff Rona (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Jean Hegler (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2014

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$24,863,161
Expenses
$24,885,007
Net Income
-$21,846
Net Assets
$2,923,974
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $24,905,978
> 100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising -$42,817
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $15,322,301
61.6%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $5,304,695
Total Liabilities $2,380,721
Net Assets $2,923,974
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Lisa Schreibersdorf (Exec. Director) $220,948 $0 $25,992
Lauren Shapiro (Attorney) $174,546 $0 $19,332
Virginia B Curry (Chief Operating Officer) $174,038 $0 $17,575
Laura Saft (Managing Attorney) $171,398 $0 $31,681
Ed Mayr (Senior Attorney) $157,536 $0 $10,318
Harvey Mandelcorn (Trial Supervisor) $155,784 $0 $25,457
Paul Lieberman (Trail Supervisor) $147,500 $0 $9,800
Kevin Snover (Chairman Of Board) $0 $0 $0
Anne Shields (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Jeff Rona (Treasurer) $0 $0 $0
Jean Hegler (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Cerchione (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2013

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$19,527,187
Expenses
$18,984,129
Net Income
$543,058
Net Assets
$2,945,820
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $19,527,187
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $459,720
2.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $11,790,122
62.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,727,714
Total Liabilities $1,781,894
Net Assets $2,945,820

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2012

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$16,329,938
Expenses
$14,607,854
Net Income
$1,722,084
Net Assets
$2,402,762
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $16,328,345
100.0%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $1,593
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $505,149
3.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $9,341,999
64.0%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $3,588,142
Total Liabilities $1,185,380
Net Assets $2,402,762

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2011

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$8,832,305
Expenses
$8,005,170
Net Income
$827,135
Net Assets
$680,678
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $8,824,505
99.9%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $7,800
0.1%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $360,875
4.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $5,022,288
62.7%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $2,919,744
Total Liabilities $2,239,066
Net Assets $680,678

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2010

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2009

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2008

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2007

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2006

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2005

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2004

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2003

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2002

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending June
2001

No Extracted Financial Data

Extracted financial data is not available for the forms filed in this tax period, but Form 990 documents are available for download.

Document Links

About This Data

Nonprofit Explorer includes summary data for nonprofit tax returns and full Form 990 documents, in both PDF and digital formats.

The summary data contains information processed by the IRS during the 2012-2019 calendar years; this generally consists of filings for the 2011-2018 fiscal years, but may include older records. This data release includes only a subset of what can be found in the full Form 990s.

In addition to the raw summary data, we link to PDFs and digital copies of full Form 990 documents wherever possible. This consists of separate releases by the IRS of Form 990 documents processed by the agency, which we update regularly.

We also link to copies of audits nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year since 2016. These audits are copied from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

Which Organizations Are Here?

Every organization that has been recognized as tax exempt by the IRS has to file Form 990 every year, unless they make less than $200,000 in revenue and have less than $500,000 in assets, in which case they have to file form 990-EZ. Organizations making less than $50,000 don’t have to file either form but do have to let the IRS they’re still in business via a Form 990N "e-Postcard."

Nonprofit Explorer has organizations claiming tax exemption in each of the 27 subsections of the 501(c) section of the tax code, and which have filed a Form 990, Form 990EZ or Form 990PF. Taxable trusts and private foundations that are required to file a form 990PF are also included. Small organizations filing a Form 990N "e-Postcard" are not included in this data.

Types of Nonprofits

There are 27 nonprofit designations based on the numbered subsections of section 501(c) of the tax code. See the list »

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For those interested in acquiring the original data from the source, here’s where our data comes from:

  • Raw filing data. Includes EINs and summary financials as structured data.
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  • Form 990 documents. Prior to 2017, these documents were obtained and processed by Public.Resource.org and ProPublica. Bulk PDF downloads since 2017 are available from the IRS.
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  • Audits. PDFs of single or program-specific audits for nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year. Available for fiscal year 2015 and later.

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