The Childrens Lifesaving Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954371286
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Santa Monica, CA, USA
Phone
4246457661
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Camps

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$563,563
Expenses
$561,586
Assets
$492,977
Liabilities
$491,000

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • FRANCESCA MCCAFFERY (Executive Dir): $137,550 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL R JOHNSON (Treasurer): $5,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Childrens Lifesaving Foundation CLF is a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to transforming the lives of underserved BIPOC youth and houseless families living in shelters and transitional housing in Los Angeles through a unique approach of providing outdoor education through amazing Summer and Surf Camps inspiring Holiday Events and awesome Field Trips in and around Los Angeles and Educational Assistance and Scholarships for youth through to college-age. We also provided crucial Emergency Funding during the COVID-19 Crisis to the families in our Vita Network. Over 95,000 underserved primarily BIPOC and Latinx youth and families have been served since 1993.

What it reported doing in 2024

Enrichment platform: this a program that incorporates a wonderful cultural recreational and outdoor activities and events which provide a sense of normalcy and community throughout the transitional experience for the whole family whether the experience is enjoyuing a refreshing day at the beach or in the mountains at camp for all in malibu attending a great holiday party complete with bags of new gifts for their children or thanksgiving dinner or enjoying countless family dinners birthday parties or graduation celebrations. This enriching platform is suupported by some fantastic field trips and fun outings. Camp4all our higly succcessful summer camp program and a thriving project angel wings holiday program which completes the impact of the enriching platform seasonally starting on thankgiving and offering amazing holiday experiences and events in december.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 64% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 31
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.4%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.4%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.7% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $421K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $138K · 4 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.