Lavita Community Financial Organization

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
992609630
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
8186456300
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Reported finances

Revenue
$179,990
Expenses
$117,921
Assets
$63,216
Liabilities
$1,147

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ARAGAS MANDANI (Executive Dir.): $37,564 total reported compensation
  • JAVIER OSORIO (COO): $29,600 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

LAVITA CFOs primary program provides free individual income tax return preparation services for low- to moderate-income individuals and families in the Los Angeles region. Services are delivered by trained and IRS-certified volunteers and are provided at no cost to participants.

What it reported doing in 2024

LAVITA CFOs primary program provides free individual income tax return preparation services for low- to moderate-income individuals and families in the Los Angeles region. Services are delivered by trained and IRS-certified volunteers and are provided at no cost to participants.The organization recruits volunteers from the community and provides structured training in individual tax preparation, including assistance with obtaining required certifications. Volunteers prepare tax returns under established quality control procedures to ensure accuracy and compliance.LAVITA CFO also provides tax preparation training to staff of nonprofit organizations, financial institutions, and government agencies upon request, to support their capacity to serve the public.In addition to tax services, LAVITA CFO offers financial coaching to individuals in the Los Angeles area, focusing on budgeting, savings, credit education, and financial goal setting.These activities support financial stability and access to essential financial services for underserved populations.

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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. 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: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 44
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.2%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 34.5%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 57%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58.2% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $105K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $38K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • 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 58/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.