Los Angeles Film Studies Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
921343679
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Agoura Hills, CA, USA
Phone
6265518421
Rating
46
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$395,794
Expenses
$384,905
Assets
$98,606
Liabilities
$4,823

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

1 person listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTOPHER RETTS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTOPHER RETTS (PRESIDENT): $104,230 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Lafsc provides practical education in the film and television arts through the lenses of faith, spirituality, and ethics.

What it reported doing in 2025

Hosted six students in our semester program, providing the following: a robust, faith-based, academic program. A 16-credit curriculum that includes training in practical production, faith integration, and electives in screenwriting, acting, and visual storytelling. The opportunity to intern with a relevant, active entity in the film and television industry three days a week throughout the semester. Instruction and administration by lafsc faculty, staff, and alumni who are working professionals in the field and have connections to the hollywood industry. Access to special guests who are friends of the program and also leaders in their respective fields (producers, directors, writers, actors, etc.). An on-the-ground, in-los angeles experience during which students will live in the hollywood area, be introduced to the people and culture of the film and television industry, and develop a community with like-minded peers, mentors, and alumni.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 34
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 5
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 38.2%; rating input score 38
  • Program expense ratio: 39.4%; rating input score 39
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.26; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.1%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 84.2% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 38.2% of revenue deployed · 39.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $152K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $104K · 1 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • 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.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 38/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.