Crafting the Future

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853602641
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
5712490526
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Reported finances

Revenue
$361,864
Expenses
$380,983
Assets
$174,426
Liabilities
$8,386

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

People named in this filing

  • COURTNEY MARTIN (SECRETARY)
  • MEG MILES (TREASURER)
  • CHE RHODES (CHAIR)

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

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

Overview

Mission

At crafting the future (ctf), our mission is to increase access to creative enrichment for black and brown artists by connecting them to opportunities that help them thrive.

What it reported doing in 2024

Residency: we support multiple residency programs that aim to provide established and emerging artists with time and space to create. Our biggest residency program is in our home base studio in los angeles. The 2020 los angeles artist census found that around 50% of black and latinx artists surveyed have no studio, while only 24% of white respondents lacked studio space, despite white non-hispanic people making up only 28.5% of the la population. The need for a program like ours is undeniable. For the past four years, the residency program has supported emerging bipoc artists in los angeles by offering free studio space, a material stipend, and an all- expenses-paid one- or two-week workshop at an art/craft school. This year we have extended the length of the residency from 6 months to one year and the proposed expansion in 2025 would increase the number of artists from two to four, increase the stipend from 4000 to 6000, and bring in additional short-term visiting artists.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 52% for direct work, and 48% for grants.

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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.5%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 92.1%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $131.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -5.3%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -41.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.5% of revenue deployed · 92.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $351K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.