Centro Latino for Literacy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954324579
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2015
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Location
Granada Hills, CA, USA
Phone
2132628799
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$461,828
Expenses
$359,950
Assets
$186,926
Liabilities
$2,650

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARIA RIDDLE (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIA RIDDLE (PRESIDENT/CEO): $68,021 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Education: centro latino for literacy creates innovative solutions that transform life through literacy. The organization teaches the non-literate spanish speaking adults how to read and write.

What it reported doing in 2015

Leamos - pre-esl basic literacy for spanish speakers teaches spanish-speaking youth and adults to read and write as a crucial first step in enabling them to learn english and other vital skills, improve job readiness, and access information and services. Leamos is a self-paced application that allows students to progress through lessons at their own rate. As a result, most participants learn to read and write in approximately 150 hours (three to five months) at the computer. This program was also offered at 8 other organizations where 72 students were enrolled. Total enrollment was 177 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.1%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.52; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.9%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -21.9% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -25.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65% of revenue deployed · 82.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $298K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $68K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2013 to 2015
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization is recorded as not currently operating in California.