Cooperation L A

Overview

Mission

The L.A. Co-op Lab is a collective that builds capacity for worker ownership in Los Angeles as a pathway toward a more equitable and democratic economy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cooperative Development L.A. Co-op Lab provides incubation support, technical assistance and in-depth coaching to those interested in starting or becoming a worker-owned cooperative. We also facilitate fair access to capital via our membership in Seed Commons, a financial cooperative. To date, weve supported nearly 200 teams and organizations and invested $650,000 into underserved communities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 62% for direct work, and 38% for grants.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
833306526
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
3232078545
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Visual Arts Organizations

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 57
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.9%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 33.7%; rating input score 34; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 62.5%; rating input score 62; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.2%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 44.9%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 54.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 50.4% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59.9% of revenue deployed · 69.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $355K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $76K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 annual filings from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Dominique Pearson (Director): $76,337 total reported compensation
  • Citlalli Velasquez (Director): $76,337 total reported compensation
  • Rachel Balderston (Secretary): $76,337 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.