Maldef - Mexican American Legal
Founded in 1968, maldef is the nation's leading latino civil rights legal organization, promoting social change through advocacy, community education and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrants rights and political access.
Maldef - Mexican American Legal at a glance
- Total assets
- $21,349,231
- -13.5% vs 2024
- Revenue (2025)
- $7,275,973
- -0.6% vs 2024
- Net investment income (2025)
- $740,535
- -57.3% vs 2024
- Expenses (2025)
- $9,294,933
- +1.1% vs 2024
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
Who Maldef - Mexican American Legal funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Grant Size Distribution
2 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 2 grants of 2 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Cities
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2021, annual grant giving ranged from $16K (2021) to $366K (2020). In 2021 it made 2 grants totaling $16K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| National Day Laborers Organizing Network Los Angeles, CA | Organizational Contribution | $14,745 |
| Somos Famila Valle Sun Valley, CA | Virtual Sponsorship | $1,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $21,349,231 | $7,275,973 | $9,294,933 | — | — | $740,535 |
| 2024 | $24,675,445 | $7,321,161 | $9,196,575 | — | — | $1,733,572 |
| 2023 | $24,721,793 | $11,598,841 | $9,365,937 | — | — | $1,021,053 |
| 2022 | $25,844,457 | $10,363,257 | $8,874,079 | — | — | $746,296 |
| 2021 | $22,369,424 | $9,263,425 | $7,843,850 | $15,745 | 2 | $718,538 |
| 2020 | $23,440,757 | $9,026,407 | $8,636,675 | $366,000 | 5 | $337,561 |
| 2019 | $17,811,414 | $14,286,679 | $7,790,853 | — | — | $814,149 |
About Maldef - Mexican American Legal
Based on IRS filings
Maldef - Mexican American Legal is a public charity focused on Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy, based in Los Angeles, CA. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $21.3M in total assets. Net investment income was $741K.
Focus Areas
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Maldef - Mexican American Legal is led by Thomas A. Saenz, President & General Counsel on every filing since 2019; 7 of 31 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Thomas A. Saenz
President & General Counsel
On filings since 2019
47.5 hrs/week
$277K (2019) → $459K (2025)
Anna Maria Chavez
Program & Planning Committee Chair
Audit Committee Chair → Director, 2022
Director → Program & Planning Committee Chair, 2023
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Michael Wampold
Audit Committee Chair
Director → Audit Committee Chair, 2022
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Emilio Gonzalez
Development Committee Chair
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jeffrey Garcia Secretarytreasurer
Fiscal & Investment Committee Chair
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jorge A. Herrera Governance
Nominations Committee Chair
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Norma Cantu
Chair
Director → Chair, 2025
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bill Lann Lee
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Carlos R. Soltero
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jose Sanchez
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Raul Lomeli-Azoubel
Director
Chair → Director, 2023
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ronald W. Wong
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Elisa De La Vara
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Phil Fuentes
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Luis Ricardo Fraga
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stella M. Flores
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
R. Omar Riojas
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Elizabeth V. Lopez
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Laura E. Gomez
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Yolanda Camarena
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Augustina Reyes
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tom Reston
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gina Montoya
Vice President of Development
On filings since 2019
50 hrs/week
$148K (2019) → $200K (2025)
Nina Perales
Vice President of Litigation
Vice President of Litigation → Vice President of Litigati, 2021
Vice President of Litigati → Vice President of Litigation, 2022
On filings since 2019
50 hrs/week
$143K (2019) → $198K (2025)
Sandra Hernandez
Vice President of Communications & Media
Vice President of Communications & Media → Vice President of Communications, 2021
Vice President of Communications → Vice President of Communications & Media, 2022
On filings since 2019
50 hrs/week
$141K (2019) → $173K (2025)
Shelley Mallchok
Vice President of Finance & CFO
Vice President of Finance & CFO → Vice President of Finance, 2021
Vice President of Finance → Vice President of Finance & CFO, 2022
On filings since 2019
37.5 hrs/week
$147K (2019) → $200K (2025)
Andrea Senteno
Regional Counsel: Dc
On filings since 2023
50 hrs/week
$106K (2023) → $127K (2025)
Ernest Herrera
Regional Counsel: Western Region
New on the 2025 filing
50 hrs/week
$127K (2025)
Regina Montoya
1st Vice Chair
2nd Vice Chair → 1st Vice Chair, 2022
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Gabriela Pacheco
2nd Vice Chair
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Irma Rodriguez-Moisa
3rd Vice Chair
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (26)
- Former: Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez (2019–2024) — 2nd Vice Chair
- Former: Irma Rodriguez Moisa (2019–2024) — Chair
- Former: Maria Gabriela Pacheco (2019–2024) — 3rd Vice Chair
- Former: Joe Garcia (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Griselda Vega Samuel (2022–2024) — Regional Counsel: Chicago
- Former: Maria Blanco (2023–2024) — Director
- Former: Cynthia Telles (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Enrique Chavez Jr. (2019–2022) — Governance & Nominations Committee Chair
- Former: Jeffrey Garcia (2019–2022) — Secretary, Treasurer & Fiscal
- Former: Jorge A. Herrera (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Laura Flores Cantrell (2019–2022) — Program & Planning Committee Chair
- Former: Loretta P. Martinez (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Marcus Allen (2019–2022) — Chair
- Former: Michael A. Olivas (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Belinda E. Helzer (2021–2022) — National Senior Counsel
- Former: Aracely Munoz (2019–2021) — 1st Vice Chair
- Former: Fabian Nunez (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Lillian Rodriguez Lopez (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Maria A. Berriozabal (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Martin J. Chavez (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Emilio Gonzalez New (2021) — Director
- Former: Denise Hulett (2019–2020) — National Senior Counsel
- Former: Gabriel Fuentes (2019) — Director
- Former: Gloria Molina (2019) — 1st Vice Chair
- Former: Leticia Van De Putte (2019) — Director
- Former: Margarita Flores (2019) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $459K, to Thomas a Saenz (President and General Counsel). 7 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Maldef - Mexican American Legal
How large is Maldef - Mexican American Legal?
Maldef - Mexican American Legal reported $21.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $7.3M.
What is Maldef - Mexican American Legal?
Maldef - Mexican American Legal is a public charity focused on Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy, based in Los Angeles, CA. It holds $21.3M in total assets as of 2025.
Where does Maldef - Mexican American Legal operate?
Maldef - Mexican American Legal has awarded grants in California, District of Columbia, Virginia.
What is Maldef - Mexican American Legal's EIN?
Maldef - Mexican American Legal's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 74-1563270. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
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