Project Ropa
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 814278151
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2019
- Location
- Gardena, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3104007114
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,761,476
- Expenses
- $1,902,171
- Assets
- $164,221
- Liabilities
- $234,488
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Caitlin Adler (CEO and Board Chairwoman)
Highest reported compensation
- Caitlin Adler (CEO and Board Chairwoman): $64,112 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of Project Ropa is to advance a circular economy by reducing textile waste, restoring dignity, and empowering people in need through the redistribution of clothing and hygiene essentials.
What it reported doing in 2025
Since its founding in 2017, Project Ropa has distributed over $6.7 million worth of essential goods to individuals and families in need. In our most recent fiscal year, we secured $1.76 million in products, all provided at no cost to people experiencing homelessness and low-income households across Los Angeles County. This included $178,290 worth of goods distributed directly to agencies and programs serving unhoused individuals, youth, and families living in poverty. These goods included thousands of items of new and gently used clothing, shoes, socks, and personal hygiene products for men, women, children, toddlers, and infants. By providing these essential items, we help partner organizations reduce their operating costs and improve the quality of life for the people they serve. In 2025, Project Ropa welcomed 172 volunteers who supported our work at both our warehouse and direct service sitesplaying a vital role in our mission to restore dignity and provide hope
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 91% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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: 95
- Transparency & Controls: 88
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 15
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.7%; rating input score 99
- Program expense ratio: 89.3%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $508.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: -8%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.09; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.43; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 21.3% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.7% of revenue deployed · 89.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $64K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 11 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.
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.