Donate Life California

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202349106
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
West Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9166786044
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Organ and Tissue Banks

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,076,421
Expenses
$1,014,836
Assets
$5,000,362
Liabilities
$37,625

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jim Martin (CEO)
  • Tom Mone (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jim Martin (CEO): $189,471 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Donate Life Californa is a nonprofit organ and tissue donor registry dedicated to saving the lives of thousands of Californians awaiting life-saving transplants. The registry is used by the states organ and tissue recovery organizations.

What it reported doing in 2024

Donate Life California has established a donor registry to provide all Californians the opportunity to declare their desire to donate their organs and tissue for transplantation and research. In 2024, more than 588,000 people in California signed up with the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, bringing the total number of registered organ, eye, and tissue donors in California to over 19 million. Donate Life California continues positive relationship with the four Organ Procurement Organizations across California as well as critical relationship with the California DMV and Legislature in reaching donors.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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 total spending goes to programs and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 44.3%; rating input score 44
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $277.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 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: 51.1%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.93; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.7%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 44.3% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $858K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $189K · 9 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 44/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.