Foundation of Sustaining the Good Life

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873303188
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Phone
5102550232
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Residential Care & Adult Day Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$695,131
Expenses
$452,549
Assets
$242,582
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Shanette Merrick (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Shanette Merrick (Executive Director): $48,333 total reported compensation
  • Vivian El Garico (Treasurer): $25,344 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Empower the mind, body, and spirit of America's minoritized communities by celebrating our elders, teaching our young, and supporting our working men and women. The Good Life is dedicated to reversing the growing public health crisis of dementia and diabetes disproportionately affecting Black and Latin American communities.

What it reported doing in 2023

Program Service 1: Healthy Aging Program Description of Achievements: The Healthy Aging Program promotes physical and mental well-being among older adults. It offers a range of services, including exercise classes, cooking and nutrition classes, and monthly interactive presentations led by special guest speakers. The program aims to improve the overall health and quality of life of participants. Financial Information: Impact: * Served 200 participants * Conducted 190 exercise classes and 81 Mental Health classes and 54 cooking and nutrition classes * Hosted 12 weekly health presentations * 85% of participants reported improved physical fitness * 90% of participants gained better knowledge about healthy eating

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 - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 33
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.4%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 34.9%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.4% of revenue deployed · 85.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $385K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.