Life Camps Incorporated
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 200814999
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012
- Location
- Jamaica, NY, USA
- Phone
- 6462580936
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Delinquency Prevention
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,333,070
- Expenses
- $7,005,723
- Assets
- $4,849,000
- Liabilities
- $4,574,001
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- ERICA FORD (CHIEF EXEC O): $200,001 total reported compensation
- TIFFANY LAMELA (CO-EXEC. DIR): $140,000 total reported compensation
- ANN-KERRY JEAN-CHARLES (CFO): $140,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Provide youth and families, impacted by violence, tools to launch sustainable careers, avert incarceration, & optimize talent so that historically marginalized communities can make a social impact that improves life for our fellow global citizens.
What it reported doing in 2024
Throughout the period from july 1, 2024, to june 30, 2025, life camp consistently provided support to nyc youth and young adults, schools and the community in southeast queens. This significantly enhanced the safety of students, staff and the community as a whole. Our enrichment programs have been successful in addressing high rates of violence in our community. Programs include, but are not limited to: a. Giant thinkings mind up class: provided participants with a program thatutilized physical exercise to alleviate stress and enhance mental clarity. Participants benefited from the opportunity to engage in activities aimed at reducing stress levels and improving cognitive function. B. Financial literacy: participants acquired invaluable insights into the principles of saving and wealth management, transcending mere material possessions. This knowledge equips them with essential skills to navigate personal finances, make informed decisions, and cultivate long-term financial stability, empowering them to achieve their goals and secure their financial futures. C. Urban yogis: participants deeply engaged in meditation and yoga sessions, cultivating a profound sense of inner peace and overall well- being. For participants, this practice serves as a powerful tool for managing stress, trauma, and challenging emotions, offering a pathway to healing and resilience amidst adversity. D. Animation initiative: an 8-12 week program heavily concentrated on arts education, djing, composition and recording, graphic and fashion design, animation, and film and tv production. Programming offers opportunities for social interactions while creating a space for personal exploration of each individual's personal interests. E. Anti gun violence employment program the anti-gun violence employment program (agvep) operates as a year-round employment initiative tailored for individuals aged 14 to 24 who face the risk of either perpetuating or falling victim to gun violence. Participants engage in projects crafted to foster social, educational, and professional advancement, aiming to break the cycle of violence while nurturing personal development. F. Work learn grow: this program provides paid internships and career readiness training to youth and young adults. There is a focus on building upon skills learned through the summer youth employment program (syep). The program offers opportunities for students to explore career paths, develop essential work skills, and even earn college credit. G. Summer youth employment program initiative for youth employment, fostering connections between nyc youth aged 14 to 24 and invaluable career exploration opportunities alongside paid work experience during each summer. Syep empowers participants to delve into diverse interests and career paths, fostering the development of effective workplace habits while engaging in enriching learning experiences that bolster their social, civic, and leadership proficiencies. Supervising five schools, life camp served a cumulative total of 3,000 students across multiple programs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 82% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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 - 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: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 67
- Accountability: 83
- Sustainability: 17
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.9%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 70.4%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $87.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.6%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.94; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.1%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 25.7% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 77.9% of revenue deployed · 70.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $200K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $654K reported
- Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.