Lamp Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953993742
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
3233349000
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,807,252
Expenses
$22,355,755
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN J MACERI (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN J MACERI (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $172,959 total reported compensation
  • PATRICIA LOPEZ (CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER): $133,360 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Lamp community's mission is to end homelessness of los angeles' most vulnerable individuals -primarily adults living with mental illness - through a continuum of services and housing, enabling them to reach their highest level of self-sufficiency and community integration.

What it reported doing in 2018

Housing: when an individual has a stable environment, they are better able to create a stable life. We work to house program participants as quickly as possible and provide wraparound supportive services. Housing services include interim housing, housing coordination, housing navigation, and permanent supportive housing. Interim housing: due to the shortage of available affordable housing, our program participants often need interim housing during the time it takes for a permanent housing option to become available to them. Housing coordination: our multidisciplinary staff individualize services and interventions according to the needs of each participant. The development of an individualized housing and care plan begins right away. In addition to income and benefits assistance, applications are completed with the help of case managers to apply for the best fit housing available or through other avenues outside of voucher assistance. Program participants are supplemented with the knowledge of basic living skills, housing counseling, assistance in understanding the nuances of a lease, securing utilities, making moving arrangements, being a good neighbor, proper care of their living space, representative payee services for rent and utilities when needed, and mediation and outreach to property owners related to locating or retaining housing. Housing navigation: staff provide housing location services, including assisting program participants with locating affordable permanent housing and establishing relationships with landlords/agencies willing to provide affordable permanent housing to program participants. Permanent supportive housing: in order to permanently end homelessness for our program participants, our extensive permanent housing services department works collaboratively with case managers and housing navigators to match program participants with best fit housing that will meet their specific needs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 97% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 61% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 99
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.2%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: $441.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 71st 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; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -18.9%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.3% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $22.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $173K · 30 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $596K reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2010 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.