BET TZEDEK
Justice for All
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We are legal specialists and advocates dedicated to serving the most vulnerable people in our community. We meet client needs for high-quality legal assistance where no other free legal aid exists. We believe that the law should be the same for all among us, and that equal access to justice is the first step in curing poverty.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Legal Services
Bet Tzedek addresses important issues facing low-income residents of Los Angeles County, including housing, health care, consumer fraud, workers' rights, and Holocaust reparations.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients assisted with legal needs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Legal Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Legal Services
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Volunteer Hours
Number of small businesses and entrepreneurs represented in our Small Business Development Program.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
LGBTQ people, Ethnic and racial groups, Veterans
Related Program
Legal Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients seeking legal representation in our Preventing and Ending Homelessness Project.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Homeless people, Out-of-home youth
Related Program
Legal Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Dollar amount of stolen wages won for low-wage workers.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Legal Services
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of individuals served through our Transgender Legal Name and Gender Marker Clinics
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
LGBTQ people
Related Program
Legal Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Bet Tzedek was founded in 1974 by a small group of lawyers, rabbis, and community activists who sought to act upon a central tenet of Jewish law and tradition: “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof – Justice, justice you shall pursue." This doctrine establishes an obligation to advocate the just causes of the poor and helpless. Consistent with this mandate, Bet Tzedek provides assistance to all eligible needy residents throughout Los Angeles County, regardless of their racial, religious, or ethnic background.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Achieving social change through strategic lawsuits is a priority for Bet Tzedek. The agency's Impact Litigation program takes on cases that have the potential to change the lives of great numbers of people by modifying the law or by transforming public policy. Recent examples of such cases include: litigation against a local municipality for religious discrimination; challenging an ordinance's impact on elderly mobile home park tenants; litigation against a bank for unfair and unlawful practices after foreclosure; and representing tenants impacted by slum housing conditions. All of Bet Tzedek's work is driven by a vision of creating long-term change, but the Impact Litigation area creates that change in broad, sweeping motions. Impact litigation can and does lead to changes in the law that better protect workers, seniors, consumers and community members in general.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Bet Tzedek accomplishes these impressive results by engaging volunteer attorneys, paralegals, and other professionals in a dynamic way. The organization's positive reputation in the Los Angeles community makes recruitment an easy task. Volunteers, in fact, regularly come to us. Major law firms and corporate legal departments consistently deploy attorneys to do pro bono work for Bet Tzedek.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We protect vulnerable populations through: direct representation and aggressive impact litigation; education to help people know their rights; self-help guidance; and legislative advocacy. We are recognized nationally for effectively leveraging a small number of staff and many volunteers, including pro bono legal services from over 100 firms, to impact many thousands of people.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
BET TZEDEK
Board of directorsas of 09/21/2023
Mrs. Linda Michaelson
Sheppard Mullin
Term: 2022 - 2024
Robert M. Schwartz
O'Melveny & Myers
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
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? Yes
Organizational demographics
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
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/01/2019GuideStar 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
- 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 disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- 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.
- 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 measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- 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.