Child Creativity Lab

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364746228
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2016, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Santa Ana, CA, USA
Phone
7143524380
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,100,196
Expenses
$1,071,003
Assets
$703,644
Liabilities
$175,811

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TRACEY HILL (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • TRACEY HILL (CEO): $165,257 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To foster the next generation of critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, environmental stewards, and leaders through hands-on creativity enhancing exploration.

What it reported doing in 2025

The child creativity lab continues to be a partner in the community for schools and other youth serving organizations with a focus on fostering problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation in children. The organization continues to meet the challenges of the rapidly moving landscape of the pandemic. Our team continues to improve on ways to serve students safely and efficiently, filling the void with hands-on tactile creativity, while also building our reach and awareness with online learning and providing free content on youtube. In 2025, the organization directly served 40,152 youth, including 85% coming from underserved communities. This was facilitated through our various programs, including delivering 746 educational programs, services facilitiated by 2,819 volunteers, and diverting 14,485 pounds of materials from landfills.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 80.6%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 95.5%; rating input score 95; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.7%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.4%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.9% of revenue deployed · 80.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 22 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $863K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $165K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.