Create Now Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954590574
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
2137472777
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Reported finances

Revenue
$498,096
Expenses
$631,127
Assets
$26,472
Liabilities
$926

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN HANSBROUGH (BOARD MEMBER, PRESIDENT)
  • BRANDON JOHNSON (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRANDON JOHNSON (CEO): $64,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Create now provides youth with high-quality arts programs, enriching opportunities, and caring artists who often operate as mentors. We mainly focus on youth who are experiencing homelessness, in foster care, or experiencing other forms of challenges.

What it reported doing in 2024

Funded programming - we provide comprehensive arts classes to students in title 1 schools throughout the region. We work with lausd and charter systems to bring programming to students from pre-k through 12th grade. Our school-based prorgrams include music programs, graphic design, writing, visual arts, and so much more. These programs are offered to youth of all grade levels. Our programs are also seen in group homes, shelters, or other partnering facilities around the city.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% 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

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.6%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -26.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.04; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.6% of revenue deployed · 73.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $466K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $64K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.