GOLD2024

Legal Momentum

Protecting Women's and Girls' Rights Begins with the Law.

aka formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund   |   New York, NY   |  https://www.legalmomentum.org

Mission

Legal Momentum's mission is to ensure economic and physical security for all women and girls by advancing equity in education, the workplace, and the courts. We provide an expert legal voice to seek justice for women. Legal Momentum envisions a society in which all women and girls are economically secure, empowered to make their own choices, and can live and work free of discrimination and violence. In this society, all girls and women enjoy the conditions, opportunities, and support that enable them to realize their true potential.

Notes from the nonprofit

In 1970, Legal Momentum was originally founded as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. With five decades of experience safeguarding the rights of women and girls through landmark legislation and high impact litigation, we maintain an unwavering commitment to gender equity, honoring the inextricable links to racial justice, and thus achieving equality for all. And now, fifty years later, we remain unceasing in our commitment to gender justice. Legal Momentum will continue its invaluable work to LEAD---litigate, educate, advocate, and defend--and ensure that all women and girls are equally protected under the law.

Ruling year info

1971

President and CEO

Ms. Carol A. Baldwin Moody

Main address

32 Broadway, Suite 1801

New York, NY 10004 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund

EIN

23-7085442

NTEE code info

Women's Rights (R24)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Women and girls continue to face gender discrimination and bias in many areas of their lives. Using the legal system, Legal Momentum protects the economic, educational, legal and reproductive rights of women and girls nationwide.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

WOMEN VALUED: Empowering Women in the Workplace

Women Valued Initiative (WVI), aims to educate, empower, and elevate all women with a focus on the most vulnerable women. Committed to ensuring women are informed of their rights and have access to stronger legal protections, Women Valued addresses the problematic and chronic reality that women continue to be undervalued in our economy. This initiative,has published critical resources, including a Legal Toolkit for Women’s Economic Equality, which provides guidance to advocates and women; and the Working Woman’s Bill of Rights, which serves as a national policy advocacy agenda. Spearheading targeted policy and legislative advocacy this initiative drafts innovative new legislation and submitting testimony and public comment at the national, state, and local levels.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Victims and oppressed people

Legal Momentum’s anti-violence programs keep us at the forefront of securing personal safety for women and girls:
·  Employment and Housing Rights for Victims of Gender-Based Violence: Legal Momentum helps women victimized by domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking keep their jobs and safe housing while taking steps to break free from violent relationships or recover from the trauma of assault.
·  Immigrant Women: Legal Momentum advocates for policy reforms—such as the passage of U-Visa laws, which grant legal status to immigrant women victims of gender-based violence—helps victims understand their rights, and litigates when necessary.
·  Violence against Poor Women: Legal Momentum works to ensure that public benefit policies recognize and respond to the special needs of poor and low-income victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
·  Publications:  Legal Momentum publishes information on many issues related to violence against women, such as custody in domestic violence cases, stalking, and how victims of gender-based violence are treated in the courts.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Victims and oppressed people

National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) is a unique, award-winning program that uses trainings, model curricula, publications and videos to educate the judicial, legal and justice system communities about the psychological, medical, and legal aspects of rape and sexual assault. In 2008, NJEP launched a much-lauded online course, Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: Adjudicating this Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases, to raise awareness of the great risk posed by co-occurring domestic violence and sexual assault.

This program provides training and technical assistance to educate judges and multidisciplinary court personnel about the realities of domestic and sexual violence.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Victims and oppressed people

Rights Now! is a training curriculum that focuses on teaching young women and girls ages 16-24 about healthy relationships, responding to gender-based harassment and violence, and their legal rights, in plain language workshops presented by peer educators working together with Legal Momentum staff experts. Rights Now! provides age-appropriate education aimed at increasing young people’s awareness of the conditions and factors that contribute to dating violence and unhealthy relationships.

Rights Now! provides young adults with the tools they need to recognize, prevent, and navigate against violence that can easily derail their lives. These workshops equip girls and young women with the skills and resources that can help them escape abusive partners, stalking, or dating violence. Rights Now! also teaches young women about legal resources they can turn to for help, and how to report and respond to violence that occurs in school.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Women and girls

The SYMS | Legal Momentum Helpline is here to provide information and assistance for those who have experienced gender discrimination or gender-based violence in the workplace, home or school.

We handle a range of issues related to the rights of women and girls and gender inequality, including sexual assault, domestic violence, sex discrimination in education, and sex discrimination in employment, such as sexual harassment, pregnancy and care-giving discrimination.

Legal Momentum handles each inquiry with attention and care, however if your case is not one we can take on, we will do our best to provide you with appropriate referrals and resources. And if you would like to visit us at our offices, we will work with you to create an appointment.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Victims and oppressed people

Where we work

Videos

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Through high-impact legal strategy and powerful programming, Legal Momentum seeks justice for women and girls within these five core areas:

- Workplace Equality & Economic Empowerment
- Fairness in the Courts
- Equal Educational Opportunities
- Violence Against Women and Girls
- Reproductive Justice

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve

Financials

Legal Momentum
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Legal Momentum

Board of directors
as of 01/19/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Eileen Simon

Mastercard

Jay W. Waks

American Kennel Club

Kim Gandy

National Network to End Domestic Violence (retired)

Robert M. Kaufman

Proskauer Rose LLP

Susan B. Lindenauer

The Legal Aid Society (retired)

Amy Dorn Kopelan

Bedlam Productions, Inc.

Stephanie A. Sheridan

Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Karen E. Silverman

The Cantellus Group

Laura A. Wilkinson

PayPal Inc.

Lori B. Leskin

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Esha Bandyopadhyay

Fish & Richardson PC

Dede Thompson Bartlett

Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence

Glynna Christian

Holland & Knight LLP

Meena L. Elliott

Kiverdi Inc.

Vilia B. Hayes

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Carol A. Baldwin Moody

Legal Momentum

Eileen Simon

Mastercard

Mary Gail Gearns

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (retired)

Amy Leder

Holland & Knight LLP

Nancy B. Saltzman

Logicalis, Inc.

Yvette D. Valdez

Latham & Watkins LLP

G. Elaine Wood

Charles River Associates

Jessica S. Carey

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Sheryl Koval Garko

Orrick, Harrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Mary Gail Gearns

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (retired Partner)

Vilia Hayes

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Meredith Moore

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Carolyn D. Richmond

Fox Rothschild LLP

Yvette D. Valdez

Latham & Watkins LLP

Laura A. Wilkinson

Pay Pal, Inc.

Catherine Zinn

Baker Botts LLP

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 8/10/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Black/African American
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Equity strategies

Last updated: 04/29/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.