The Order of the Good Death

Legal name: The Good Death

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823964819
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
6268723622
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Counseling, Support Groups

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$122,400
Expenses
$78,789
Assets
$146,124
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SARAH STEVENS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CAITLIN DOUGHTY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH STEVENS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $2,688 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 Order of the Good Death is a nonprofit organization that works to change the way we perceive mortality and cultivate a healthy relationship with it.

What it reported doing in 2024

To provide educational services for the public to access via the web in order to learn more about death and the death industry.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. 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: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.9%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
  • 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: Limited
  • 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 35.6%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.85; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -12.1% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 58.9% of revenue deployed · 82.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 1 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $65K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $3K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.