Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450532426
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pasadena, CA, US
Phone
(323) 274-1380
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Family Counseling

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$35,020,601
Expenses
$34,730,338
Assets
$12,062,495
Liabilities
$9,355,714

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CRISTINA ALVARADO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CRISTINA ALVARADO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $245,303 total reported compensation
  • FIONA STEWART (SR. DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS AND STRATEGY): $161,027 total reported compensation
  • ELISE M CRANE (REGISTRY DIRECTOR): $154,800 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 provide leadership, advocacy, and resources to support accessible, affordable, high-quality child care and early learning for all families in Los Angeles County.

What it reported doing in 2024

Working through the 10 resource and referral and alternative payment organizations in los angeles county to ensure that subsidized child care services are provided uniformly through the county; providing quality improvement coaching and training to child care providers through those organizations; managing a subsidized child care program for foster care families; and, tracking and promoting early childhood education through a workforce registry.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.8%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 97.6%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.7%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 96.8% of revenue deployed · 97.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $33.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $245K · 16 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $106K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.