Race for the Rescues

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465194776
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2014
Location
North Hollywood, CA, USA
Phone
3238995640
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$481,865
Expenses
$408,064
Assets
$113,568
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LISA YOUNG (FOUNDER & PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA YOUNG (FOUNDER & PRESIDENT): $60,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Race for the rescues is a unique, 501(c)3 non-profit, no-kill organization dedicated to eliminating animal suffering and euthanasia. Our mission is to unite animal welfare organizations to fight pet overpopulation and save as many animal lives as possible. We assist animal welfare organizations with fund-raising, pet adoption and community outreach programs. We develop and share leadership skills and tools with innovative ideas to help homeless animals and to make our world a kinder place.

What it reported doing in 2025

Race for the rescues is committed to decreasing shelter overcrowding and preventing euthanasia through an annual adoption show at the rose bowl and year-round online marketing of shelter animals. This high-profile event and continuous promotion increase the visibility of animals in need, helping to connect them with loving homes, reduce shelter populations, and ultimately save lives.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.1%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 15.3%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.7%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.3% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.1% of revenue deployed · 81.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $333K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.