Chicas Verdes Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850907771
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
6514977272
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Garden Club, Horticultural Program

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$334,820
Expenses
$356,115
Assets
$119,033
Liabilities
$37

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BARI APPLEBAUM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • BARI APPLEBAUM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $81,720 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To build socially-minded leaders by fostering young peoples' connection to nature.

What it reported doing in 2024

Gardening programing - rejuvenated and maintained four school gardens and delivered 5,085 hours of outdoor programming to 667 students through recess and after-school sessions. Programming focused on gardening, environmental education, and sustainability practices to support student well-being, environmental awareness, and community engagement.conducted 24 workshops for parents and caregivers across partner school sites, advancing food access, environmental stewardship, and family wellness. Workshops included hands-on activities such as herb planting, composting, fl oral design, candle-making with indoor air quality education, healthy cooking demonstrations, mindfulness practices, and nutrition education to support academic success.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 61
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.1%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 87.5%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.4%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.9%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 41.5% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.1% of revenue deployed · 87.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $312K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $82K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.