Pop Culture Hero Coalition

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475197765
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Studio City, CA, USA
Phone
3236208111
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$413,137
Expenses
$463,863
Assets
$161,073
Liabilities
$206,126

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

People named in this filing

  • CHASE (MASTERSON)
  • CARRIE (GOLDMAN)
  • ANGELO (ALCID)

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 Coalitions evidence-based flagship program, The Heroic Journey created in Partnership with YMCA if the USA and nationally endorsed by them, is now expanding into public housing communities-equipping children and teens in proverty with the skills to break cycles of hopelessness and build safe, hopeful futures.

What it reported doing in 2024

We turn struggles into strengths. Delivered free nationwide, The Heroic Journey has reached over 500,000 young people, parents and educators at 1,800+ sites. Its 21 research-based lessons pair evidence-driven tools with beloved narratives to teach resilience, emotional regulation, kindness, conflict resolution, resisting peer pressure, bullying prevention, and lifelong decision-making skills. With a companion component for parents/guardians, each lesson strengthens support at home. Independent evaluation by Hello Insight shows the Heroic Journey more than doubles youth proficiency on national skill benchmarkls-from 41% to 83%.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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

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: 97
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.1%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $75.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.28; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.4% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.7% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $455K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $106K reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • 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: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.