Children Now Action Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943059144
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
5107632444
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$624
Expenses
$261,341
Assets
$242,040
Liabilities
$143,578

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • EDWARD LEMPERT (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • EDWARD LEMPERT (PRESIDENT)
  • LENNY MENDONCA (TREASURER)
  • DEBORAH MINTZ (SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To promote and advocate for the improvement of children's welfare, particularly children who are poor, and to work for specific public policy initiatives on the behalf of children, and engage in such other activities that are necessary and proper to carry out the foregoing purpose.

What it reported doing in 2025

Action fund: children now action fund is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(4) organization committed to pushing kids to the top of the public policymaking agenda. The action fund holds policymakers accountable by publishing scorecard and candidate questionnaires that provide information about the most important reforms and investments across kids' issues and how elected officials provided leadership in those issues. The action fund also amplifies the power of the children's movement of California, a network led by children now, an affiliated nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, by advocating on vital kids' issues.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% 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

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: 97
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 93.4%; rating input score 93

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -41,781.6%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.93; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.59; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 38.7% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 93.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $244K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 1 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.