Latse Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831853249
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2123678490
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness

Reported finances

Revenue
$702,150
Expenses
$797,815
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • KRISTINA DY-LIACCO (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $163,614 total reported compensation
  • PEMA BHUM (Programs Director): $159,414 total reported compensation
  • TENZIN GELEK (PROGRAM OFFICER/PROJECT COORD): $139,014 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Latse, inc. Was organized for purposes which are exclusively charitable, educational, scientific, religious and literary within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986, as amended. Specifically, the charity was formed for the purposes of (i) supporting access to knowledge, including the support, development, and distribution of tibetan language and reference resources through online catalogs, digitizing collections, and creating resource guides and online galleries, (ii) supporting early childhood education for tibetan communities, including the promotion of tibetan language use and cultural literacy, and support of the research and development of relevant tools and resources by coordinating mobile library programs and micro-libraries, book clubs and workshops for parents and teachers on early childhood reading and cultural literacy, (iii) establishing platforms, tools, and resources for the promotion of literacy in tibetan language for all generations, in

What it reported doing in 2020

In 2020 latse, inc. Made the following charitable contributions: a grant of $10,000 to tibet heritage fund. To preserve traditional crafts in tibetan and himalaya regions. A grant of $3,990 to tibet arts & literature initiative. To be used for the creation of printable sets of activities to accompany the tibetan language kindergarten textbook. A scholarship of $39,482 to two individuals to support education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 56
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 5
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 50%; rating input score 50; 26th 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: 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.6%; rating input score 11; 11th 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: 57.9%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -200% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 11 filed program accomplishments · $619K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $164K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2019 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.