About Pine Tree's Funding
- How Carefully are Your Funding Decisions
Scrutinized?
- How Much of the Budget Is Spent on Administrative
Costs and Fundraising?
- Are Program Services Subject to Performance
Standards or Monitored for Quality and Effectiveness?
- What Percentage of the Budget is Federal
Funding From the Legal Services Corporation
- What Are the Other Sources of Funding?
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HOW CAREFULLY ARE YOUR FUNDING DECISIONS SCRUTINIZED?
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Pine Tree is subject to an annual audit by a certified public accountant
which is made available to all funders who request it. The program budget
is developed by the administrative staff and approved by the 36 member Board
of Directors. Pine Tree has never ended the year with a funding deficit nor
had to borrow funds to cover a shortfall in a particular spending account.
In addition, Pine Tree maintains separate fund accounts to insure that all
monies are spent for the purpose for which they were designated.
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HOW MUCH OF THE BUDGET IS SPENT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND FUNDRAISING?
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Less than 13% of the total budget is used for administrative expenses, including
fundraising. Program administrators, including the executive director, receive
only a $500 stipend above the salary of a regular staffer with comparable
experience.
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ARE PROGRAM SERVICES SUBJECT TO PERFORMANCE STANDARDS OR MONITORED FOR QUALITY
AND EFFECTIVENESS?
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In 1993, Pine Tree voluntarily adopted standards of performance which govern
the way in which program services are provided. These standards are modeled
on national ABA standards regarding the handling of caseloads, client communications
and similar issues. Pine Tree updated its standards of practice in 2004. Experienced
staff attorneys also conduct periodic reviews
of staff work to insure that these standards are being met.In addition, the federal funder, the Legal Services Corporation, periodically
conducts performance reviews based on federal standards for legal services
programs. Pine Tree was one of the first programs in the United States to
be measured according to these new standards, using a national team of private
attorneys, legal services staff and agency directors who spent a week in Maine
and interviewed over 60 staff members, clients, private attorneys and judges.
The team concluded that "the quality of the legal services Pine Tree
provides is of the highest caliber, and the results obtained for clients,
given the Program's limited resources, are extraordinary."
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WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE BUDGET IS FEDERAL FUNDING FROM THE LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION?
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In 1998, roughly forty-five percent ($1.095 million) of the total budget
came from federal funding from the Legal Services Corporation. Of this total,
$847,099 was set aside for basic legal services. The remainder was allocated
to private bar involvement in legal services work, representation of Native
Americans and migrant farmworkers and to provide litigation and training support
for program advocacy on a statewide basis.
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WHAT ARE THE OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING?
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For many years, Pine Tree has received an annual appropriation
from the State of Maine, as well as funding through the IOLTA (interest on
lawyers' trust accounts) program administered by the Maine Bar Foundation.
Starting in 1998, Pine Tree also began receiving annual funding from the Maine
Civil Legal Services Fund, a new program intended to support the restoration
of services lost with federal cutbacks to the Legal Services Corporation in
1996. These three funding sources are the primary sources of support for basic
services provided statewide by Pine Tree.Pine Tree's remaining funding comes from contracts, grants and other "soft
money" sources which restrict the kinds of clients and cases which can
be handled with that funding. Pine Tree receives a significant grant from
the United Way of Greater Portland to do domestic violence work. These sources
of funding fluctuate from year to year. An increasing percentage of support for
basic legal services comes from donations
from private individuals, businesses and foundations to Pine Tree directly
or through its share of the net proceeds of the annual Muskie Award Dinner and through
the Campaign for Justice which supports most of the legal services providers in Maine.
Major business leaders, including the late Buzz Fitzgerald of BIW, Bill Ryan
of Peoples Heritage Bank and Jim Moody of Hannaford Bros. have endorsed Pine
Tree as a worthy recipient of funding:
Pine Tree fills an absolutely vital role in Maine
by promoting the principle of fair play and equality before the law. Thousands
of deserving Maine residents are given access to our system of justice through
the efforts of Pine Tree staff, and the organization uses its limited resources
effectively and efficiently. We believe that Pine Tree has earned the support
of Maine citizens and businesses around the State.
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