South La Community Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 853084715
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 6574447584
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community, Neighborhood Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,459,054
- Expenses
- $1,205,143
- Assets
- $280,595
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOE WARD-WALLACE (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JOE WARD-WALLACE (PRESIDENT): $3,231 total reported compensation
- CELIA WARD-WALLACE (TREASURER): $3,231 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our model focuses on the following three pillars : #1: PEOPLE: EMPOWERING OUR FAMILIES Lifting barriers to human rights and healthy ecosystems by creating access to resources and developing a social safety net. #2: PLACE: CREATING OUR COMMUNITY Rejecting cultural erasure and displacement by creating equitable and thriving community spaces and experiences. #3#: PROSPERITY: BUILDING OUR ECONOMY Combatting gentrification and corporate development by building a sustainable and self-determined local economy.
What it reported doing in 2025
Through the South LA Grocery Giveaway we distribute approximately 7,000 pounds of fresh healthy food each week to 200 low-income households reaching about 1,000 residents per week. To date SLAC has distributed over 2.1 million pounds of food. This June the program will have operated continuously for 6 years. - In the first 2 weeks of the 2025 California Wildfires we mobilized 1750 volunteers to distribute 1.5 million pounds of free food and supplies to over 25,000 fire victims and first responders. The SLAC Resilience Center at South LA Cafe was established as the only major fire disaster distribution hub in our district.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 62% 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.
- 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 86
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 68
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 79.4%; rating input score 79
- Program expense ratio: 96.2%; rating input score 96
- Fundraising efficiency: $138.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 18th 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: 60%; rating input score 60; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 17.4%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.23; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.5%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 20.3% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 28.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 61.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 79.4% of revenue deployed · 96.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $3K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.