First to Serve Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 912167028
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3237584670
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alcohol, Drug and Substance Abuse, Dependency Prevention and Treatment
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $31,431,066
- Expenses
- $31,075,179
- Assets
- $16,395,409
- Liabilities
- $13,183,444
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- REV RICHARD REED (CEO)
- REV RICHARD REED (CEO)
- REV RICHARD REED (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- REV RICHARD REED (CEO): $188,984 total reported compensation
- CHERI WEEKS (EMPLOYEE): $133,571 total reported compensation
- YESENIA VERJAN (EMPLOYEE): $104,325 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
First to serve inc mission is to provide comprehensive substance abuse treatment and recovery service to the economically challenged individuals that suffer from abuse.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization stated purpose is to assist and address the specific needs and characteristics of people in recovery and homeless adults/families in securing public housing which continues to make a difference in the los angeles community. The mission is to proivde traditional and supportive housing programs for the los angeles homeless services authority, department of health services, department of mental health, and to provide comprehensive services to homeless substance abusers and dually diagnosed individuals/families in los angeles. It also offers interim housing services to adults/families in needs to assist them in increasing independence and completing housing goals.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 100% 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89.9%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- 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: 1.1%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.8; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 89.9% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $28.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $189K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.9M reported
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.