Friends of Normie Rescue
Legal name: Friends of Normie
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 922862731
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2025
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Newport Beach, CA, USA
- Phone
- 9499333442
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Animal Protection and Welfare
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $634,148
- Expenses
- $449,203
- Assets
- $391,533
- Liabilities
- $18,782
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LADAN DAVIA (PRESIDENT/CHAIR)
Highest reported compensation
- MARLA MARINELLI (MANAGING DIR.): $54,800 total reported compensation
- LADAN DAVIA (PRESIDENT/CHAIR): $51,154 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Friends of Normie Rescue is an independent foster-based cat rescue in Southern California that relies on a network of volunteer fosters to care for rescued cats and kittens and uses social media to connect them with adopters. Through the local cat network Ladan got connected to Marla, a rescuer with 25 years of rescue experience. Together, they rescued thousands of cats over the next two years, setting the foundation for what Friends of Normie Rescue is today. Without a physical facility, Marla and Ladan utilized a network of committed volunteer fosters to give new rescues temporary, loving homes until they were adopted. Along the way, Friends of Normie Rescue harnessed the power of social media to mobilize the Southern California cat community. This community began to gain traction as more and more people began following its journey. Today, Friends of Normie Rescue has over 40,000...
What it reported doing in 2025
Friends of Normie took in 3,838 animals in 2025. 1,473 were adopted. 1,063 were transferred to partner rescues operating in other markets. We also sponsored TNR for 775 animals. Unfortunately, 46 animals died while under our care and 27 were euthanized. We also sponsored 210 animals. FON hosted two events during the year, including a Community Event at the Newport Beach Civic Center in the Spring and our Annual Fundraiser in October 2025 at the Long Beach Aquarium.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 66% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 52
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 56
- Sustainability: 56
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 50.6%; rating input score 51
- Program expense ratio: 71.4%; rating input score 71
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 29.2%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.87; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 23.6%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 89.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 65.5% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 64.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 50.6% of revenue deployed · 71.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $321K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $55K · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.