The Ludacris Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364487042
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2019
Location
East Point, GA, USA
Phone
4046840094
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$572,683
Expenses
$325,079
Assets
$494,044
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Roberta Shields (President)

People named in this filing

  • Christopher Bridges (Chairman)
  • Roberta Shields (President)
  • Lisa Franklin (Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To inspire youth through leadership and education, promote healthy lifestyles, and serve communities through the LudaCares® program.

What it reported doing in 2025

Healthy lifestyles pillar programs: Is designed to guide and influence healthy eating and being physically active to improve the health of youth and the health of the planet. This program addresses issues such as nutritional health, physical activity, and childhood obesity. It also provides hands on learning experiences and encourages students to make small changes to improve health. Key healthy lifestyles experiences and accomplishments are: Healthy eating program: youth workshops with professional chefs to create foods that are healthy while learning more aboutFood preparation, healthy choices, and kitchen safety. Youth participate in a rap session at the end of each event to discuss everyday challenges and choices they face in making the right food choices. Over 500 youth have participated in this program which includes the following: a teaching garden- partnering with Carrie Steele Pitts Childrens home and habitat to plant, grow and harvest food there by creating sustainable agriculture in urban communities. The goal of the program is to provide organic food source to the school co-located on the children's home property. Make a splash: a partnership with USA swim foundation and DeKalb aquatics to teach a life skill, swim lessons. Drowning is the 2# reason for deaths in youth under 14 the cure to the epidemic, swim lessons. 75 youth participated in our swim program and thousands more were reach with our national social media awareness champaign. Talk about it text about it: HIV and runaway awareness and prevention programs in collaboration with the center for disease control, CDC, nelson Mandela, bono, and 1-800-runaway. Our messages build awareness and educate youth for prevention delivered via twitter, PSAs, and print ads. The messages reach millions.Planet green initiatives: Ludacris as a spokesperson shares "green tips" to educate youth on living environmentally friendly. We engage youth in earth day activities through educational events and by planting rain gardens.Rising star golf initiative was birthed during covid 19. To add more outdoor activities to youth this initiative creates experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience. We engage with youth 5-17 I our effort include: sponsorship to utopian academy's golf program, drive, putt chip event hosted youth in fun and competitive day; creating and providing developmental opportunities to a youth golf cohort group of young talented youth. 150 youth participation Project cradles care serving pregnant and parenting families particular in high-risk areas this initiative launches in the Chicago area. The initiative provides, information, support and tangibles resources to families and mom. Families served 50.

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 70% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. 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: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.5%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 73.1%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $95.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 52.1%; rating input score 52; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 43.2%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.52; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 41.5% of revenue deployed · 73.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $238K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 26 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.