La Plata Youth Services

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841265550
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Durango, CO, US
Phone
(970) 385-4440
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Crime Prevention

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,671,757
Expenses
$1,320,259
Assets
$1,236,157
Liabilities
$58,797

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Jason St Mary (Executive Dir.): $98,274 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

La Plata Youth Services (LPYS) supports and advocates for youth facing challenges in school, home, or court.

What it reported doing in 2024

The HUB: The HUB therapeutic program is an innovative educational model founded on a therapeutic approach to learning and development for students, in grades 6-12, with significant emotional, behavioral, or psychological challenges. Piloted in 2020-2021, this strategic partnership between Durango School District 9R, La Plata Youth Services, and the Child Wellness Center, among other community-based agencies, brings together specialized expertise in a central location. The targeted population includes youth who are impacted by adverse childhood experiences or academic barriers connected to mental health.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.4%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $51.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 21%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.94; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 63.4% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.