La Luz Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680228235
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sonoma, CA, USA
Phone
7079385131
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Ethnic, Immigrant Centers

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,587,211
Expenses
$3,268,525
Assets
$7,134,944
Liabilities
$284,607

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM HAKE (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • LEONARDO LOBATO (Executive Dir.): $253,027 total reported compensation
  • DENNIS AGNOS (DEVELOPMENT DIR.): $131,917 total reported compensation
  • Cassandra Sanchez Guzman (DIR. OF PROGrams): $126,801 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Strengthen community through family services, economic advancement, and community engagement. Our vision is: one sonoma valley community working together where all have equal opportunity to succeed.

What it reported doing in 2024

La Luz Center is a family resource center that has served Sonoma Valleys most vulnerable families for more than 40 years. It was founded by volunteers who wanted to establish a safe place for new immigrants to receive support. In the early years, La Luz offered emergency support, housing assistance, and referrals for farm workers. Today, the focus is on the promotion of economic self-sufficiency and long-term stability among our community members. The programming centers around three service types: (1) connections and support, helping clients access and navigate resources they need by way of information and referrals; (2) learning, in which the clients gain the skills and knowledge they need to success in life; and (3) engagement by helping individuals and families connect with each other, our community, and local schools through community/arts events, leadership/civic engagement, and school-based services. La Luz is the go to place for local families seeking assistance in managing and improving their lives and, as a result, La Luz is a trusted provider of community based services. La Luz provided nearly 6,000 services to more than 2,000 unique individuals in 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.9%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 72.6%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 95.5%; rating input score 96; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -26.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.18; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.1%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.9% of revenue deployed · 72.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $253K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.