Connections for Children
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 953839796
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3104523325
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $30,183,761
- Expenses
- $29,994,355
- Assets
- $12,757,600
- Liabilities
- $10,771,731
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JENNIFER HO PHD (PRESIDENT)
- ERIN SHEA (VICE PRESIDENT)
- JOSEPH GOMEZ CPA (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- JENNIFER COWAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- JENNIFER COWAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $266,794 total reported compensation
- CHANTE BERNARD (PAST DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $173,079 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Connections for children's mission is to build a stronger future for children, families, and the early care and education community by connecting them to resources, education, and economic support.
What it reported doing in 2024
Subsidy programs - connections for children administers subsidyprograms to assist low-income families in our communities, includingthose moving from welfare to work, to achieve financial independence.partial or full payment towards child care enables parents to work, attend school or receive job training with the assurance that theirchildren, up to age 12, are in the child care arrangement that bestsuits their family needs. Parents may choose care in licensed centers, family child care homes, or with relatives, friends, or neighbors. Ourprogram specialists work with each family to certify eligibility andmake arrangements to pay childcare providers for their services. 1,753families (2,829 children) received assistance with child care costs.
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: 95
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 95.1%; rating input score 95
- Program expense ratio: 95.7%; rating input score 96
- Fundraising efficiency: $890.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- 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: 0.6%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.84; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 95.1% of revenue deployed · 95.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $28.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $267K · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- 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.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.