Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples' Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311526748
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Westminster, CA, USA
Phone
8184003886
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$336,000
Expenses
$368,300
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

1 person listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Sara Haskie-Mendoza (Director): $6,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples Alliance (LAIPA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit grassroots organization founded in 1991 as collective of indigenous people and persons of conscience. Our mission is to promote the continued development of indigenous communities by organizing health, economic development and cultural education projects in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. LAIPA is a woman-centered organization with the goal of creating space in order to liberate the power that each woman and girl holds. LAIPA encompasses a philosophy stating that women are the avenues to a strong leadership force in resisting the factors that oppress community wellness.

What it reported doing in 2024

Aztlanahuac Cultural Embassy facilitates learning of those connections that bind virtually all "maiz-based" peoples and cultures with the goal of seeing themselves as part of living interconnected cultures, giving them a sense of thousands of years of belonging that can be found in Teotihuacan. We hold a retreat site for guest who visit our cultural embassy in Teotihuacan Mexico.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 83% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 100
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.6%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,680 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 9th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -9.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.6%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 48.1% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $72K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $6K · 1 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $8K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.