Project Daraja
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 993183713
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2024
- Location
- Santa Cruz, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8318259387
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Services N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $57,547
- Expenses
- $58,408
- Assets
- $6,624
- Liabilities
- $5,050
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Kelvin Nivens (President /Executive Director)
People named in this filing
- Kelvin Nivens (President /Executive Director)
- Elana Solon (Secretary)
- Reggie Stephens (Treasurer)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Project Daraja's mission is to bridge the gap between underserved, marginalized individuals and essential holistic health and wellness care. Empowering and fostering a community where cultivating physical and mental well-being is prioritized. We have established our organization within the local community as a conduit to providers of holistic healing , health and wellness and education.
What it reported doing in 2025
In its first year, Project Daraja established a three-year MOU with the county jail system to deliver the Peace Education Program, which supports personal development and aims to reduce recidivism. Beginning January 2025, two classes per week were held at men's maximum-security and women's facilities, serving 88 incarcerated individuals. Participants completing the 12-session course were eligible for institutional credits toward sentence reduction. Project Daraja also provided youth scholarships for female student-athletes. Six participants completed a 10-week strength and conditioning program (two sessions weekly). Additionally, four scholarships funded three months of martial arts training for a total of ten youths in the program. Project Daraja hosted a community film screening and discussion with filmmakers, addressing corruption in the drug rehabilitation industry. The event included approximately 60 community members.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 86
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.8%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 85
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.5%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.11; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.76; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 85.8% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $49K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.