The DIVA Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 954419536
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3102482660
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $308,469
- Expenses
- $551,139
- Assets
- $366,559
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SHERYL LEE RALPH (PRESIDENT CEO)
- BERT CHAMPAGNE (VICE PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- SHERYL LEE RALPH (PRESIDENT CEO)
- BARBARA BAGNERIS (DIRECTOR)
- CATHY ELLIOTT (DIRECTOR)
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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The DIVA Foundation improves health outcomes in underserved communities through arts-based programs that educate, empower, and raise awareness. Programs are offered year-round and focus on Health, Women and Girls, and Food Housing Security for vulnerable communities.
What it reported doing in 2025
Community Engagement Initiatives In 2025, The DIVA Foundation advanced its mission through a portfolio of community-centered initiatives spanning health, wellness, the arts, and global education. As a presenting sponsor of WalkGood LAs The People Pace, a 5K/10K run and walk held at the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Park in Baldwin Hills, the Foundation helped provide equitable healing and wellness resources to 718 participants drawn from 20 cities across Los Angeles County. The Foundation also hosted The DIVA Brunch, a community health activation held as part of the DIVAS Simply Singing 35th Anniversary Weekend, conveneing 320 attendees for HIV prevention education, lived-experience storytelling, and open dialogue around health equity. Additionally, the Foundation awarded an arts grant supporting a staged reading with music for the 50th anniversary revival of the Broadway musical Your Arms Are Too Short To Box With God, honoring cast members lost to HIV/AIDS and other illnesses while benefiting community organizationos through scheduled benefit performances.
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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - 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: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 93
- Accountability: 24
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 94.9%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: 98.5%; rating input score 99; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -78.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.67; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 24.6% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 94.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $523K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 3 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.