Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953618350
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
3232925852
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,395,424
Expenses
$798,262
Assets
$2,558,800
Liabilities
$143,508

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR BEDE SENSALO (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • LULA WASHINGTON (CHAIRMAN)
  • TAMICA WASHINGTON-MILLER (TRUSTEE)
  • ERWIN WASHINGTON (EXECUTIVE DI)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The lula Washington contemporary dance foundation is a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization founded in 1980 by lula and erwin Washington to provide a creative outlet for minority dance artists in south los angeles. The creative mission is to build a professional inner-city based modern dance company that tours world-wide with innovative dance works rooted in african american history, culture, and values. Our education mission is to create a school in the inner city where young people can learn the art of dance, launch careers in dance, and where dance is used to motivate, educate, inspire, challenge, and enrich young lives so they can grow to become successful, productive, and competitive adults.

What it reported doing in 2024

The lula Washington dance theatre (lwdt) the popular name for the lula Washington contemporary dance foundation. It is composed of two broad elements. It is a dance school that serves mainly inner -city youth, but, adults as well. The school offers dance training in ballet, modern dance, tap, hip hop, african dance, jazz dance, caribbean dance, and other forms. As part of the school, lwdt hosts a youth dance. Ensemble, which gives concerts in the community, as well as at the lwdt facility. As part of the school, lwdt produces an annual youth dance recital; a summer dance intensive and concert; a fall dance concert outside in its parking lot for the dance all day festival; and a year end kwanzaa festival. Each of these focuses on the youth, but the adult dancers regularly make appearances as well. Lwdt is also an adult, professional modern dance company that gives performances in los angeles and across the us. Locally, the dance company is hired to perform at theaters and other venues. From time to time, the dance company will self-produce a concert or concerts at its studio theatre. Lula Washington is the main choreographer for the company. Associate director tamica Washington-miller also choreographs for the company, as well as other resident artists. Often, lwdt brings in nationally recognized choreographers to set guest choreography on the company dancers. Occasionally, the company, tours to foreign nations. It has danced in china, russia, mexico, brazil, kosovo, israel, italy, germany, canada, and spain.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. 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: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 59
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.8%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 99.3%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 42.8%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.21; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.8% of revenue deployed · 99.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $793K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.