Samuelson Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
916468179
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
8185000155
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,880,113
Expenses
$188,206
Assets
$6,929,834
Liabilities
$1,575,689

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • REID G SAMUELSON (TRUSTEE)
  • H JAMES SCHAFER (TRUSTEE)
  • GARY AWAD (TRUSTEE)

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

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2024

The samuelson foundation operated exclusively for the benefit of its supported organizations to assist them in carrying out their charitable, educational and religious missions. During the year, the foundation also provided a cash grant of $80,000 to its supported organizations, beacon housing, inc. (beacon) and la canada presbyterian church (lcpc), to assist the organizations in carrying out its mission. Beacon housing, inc. Is a 501(c)(3) organization further described in section 509(a)(1) as a public charity whose mission is to empower participants who are at-risk of homelessness to achieve housing security through the provision of safe and low-cost lodging options and supportive services for their individual needs. Beacon works with groups in California who are at risk of homelessness, including survivors of domestic violence and their children as well as low-income families, to rebuild lives from the ground up. Beacon provides affordable permanent housing and transitional housing in the los angeles area and in northern California. Beacon also provides academic enrichment programs to support the educational pursuits of underserved students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Additionally, lcpc's purpose is to invite people to follow jesus christ as their savior and lord, engage them in christian community, and equip them to worship and serve god in the church and in the world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 52% for direct work, and 48% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 35
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 91
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 11.1%; rating input score 11
  • Program expense ratio: 88.2%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 93.5%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 36.82; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 34.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 11.1% of revenue deployed · 88.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $166K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 15 of 16 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 11/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule M noncash within contributions did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.