Live Action

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421764425
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Arlington, VA, USA
Phone
3234543304
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Right to Life

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,666,734
Expenses
$16,429,272
Assets
$7,094,270
Liabilities
$1,039,963

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Lila Rose (President and Founder)
  • Gabriel Renfro (Vice President of Content)
  • Kimberly Bird (Vice President of External Relations)
  • Noah Brandt (Vice President of Communications)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lila Rose (President and Founder): $388,095 total reported compensation
  • Josef Lipp (Chief Operating Officer): $273,483 total reported compensation
  • Gabriel Renfro (Vice President of Content): $243,483 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Live Action exists to defend the human rights of the most vulnerable: preborn children. Through educational media campaigns, visual storytelling, and investigative reporting, Live Action works to change hearts and minds about abortion and human dignity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Special Reports and Activism: Live Action researches and produces in-depth reports on the abortion industry and presents them to the media and public officials; educates media and public officials on the need for changes in public policy; provides supporters with opportunities to share about the value of human life; and partners with other organizations to host special events and presentations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.6%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 81.1%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 96.8%; rating input score 97; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.4% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.3% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.6% of revenue deployed · 81.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $388K · 12 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.