Casa of Los Angeles

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953890446
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Monterey Park, CA, USA
Phone
3238592888
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,675,858
Expenses
$8,674,682
Assets
$4,679,734
Liabilities
$1,782,834

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR CHARITY CHANDLER-COLE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (TO 06/2025))

Highest reported compensation

  • DR CHARITY CHANDLER-COLE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (TO 06/2025)): $261,684 total reported compensation
  • MARIE CARPENTER TO 062025 (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $195,255 total reported compensation
  • MELISSA BORDENAVE TO 052025 (DIRECTOR OF CONTRACTS): $156,498 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to mobilize community volunteers to advocate for children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Our vision is a los angeles where every child in the welfare system has an advocate and the opportunity to thrive.

What it reported doing in 2024

Casa of los angeles seeks to reduce and reverse the effects of child abuse and neglect, with ultimate goals of safety, permanency, and well-being for children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. This year we had 760 volunteer court appointed special advocates (casas) and 920 total children served. Casas served 777 of those children through one-on-one advocacy by learning about their individual living situations, identifying needs, and providing recommendations to the court in the best interest of the child. Casa volunteers advocate on behalf of children to find safe, permanent homes, encourage family visitation, and support children's medical, mental health, and educational needs. Casas served 116 unique children through the essential history program, in which volunteers complete a detailed review of a child's file and write a report outlining the child's developmental, medical, and mental health history to ensure critical details are not overlooked by the various stakeholders in the child's case. This program aims to help social workers, attorneys and judges make trauma-informed decisions about the young people they serve by providing them with a summary of the young person's experiences and history in critical areas of life. Additionally, through our specialized programs, our staff were able to directly support 129 youth through our expectant & parenting youth program, 97 transitional aged-youth through our prevention and early intervention program, and 89 youth through our youth justice program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.7%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 72.3%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.7% of revenue deployed · 72.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $262K · 34 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.