The Information and Referral Federation of Los Angeles County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953510017
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pasadena, CA, USA
Phone
6263501841
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,841,801
Expenses
$23,823,490
Assets
$10,115,500
Liabilities
$5,173,685

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LINDA WAH (PRESIDENT)
  • KATHERINE HENNIGAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MARIBEL MARIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIBEL MARIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $269,193 total reported compensation
  • AMY LYNN LATZER (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $259,210 total reported compensation
  • LAURA MEJIA (SR DIRECTOR OF I & R): $136,794 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 information and referral federation of los angeles county, dba 211 la is a nonprofit corporation formed to improve access to human service agencies by providing information and referrals to these agencies and by providing coordination (see schedule o) between the various programs in la county which offer specialized information and referral services. Specialized services provided by 211 la include the la county's elder abuse hotline, the safely surrendered baby hotline, mobility management services, abuse prevention/intervention services, youth services, veterans services, and early intervention services. In addition, 211 la engages in developing software to support and enhance customer service through the development of digital and online services. 211 la also maintains a database of community resources and web-based services that enable online access to this database.

What it reported doing in 2024

All other program services consist of : lahsa, statewide baby safe, adrc, gas company, aarp, kaiser, California tobacco control program, public safety power shutoff, prevention and aftercare services, ipp healthnet, aces aware, uw greater la emergency food and shelter program, cited path, kaiser community rental assistance, adrac emerging, doj street vendor outreach, doj training and technical assistance, ecm healthnet, ecm molina, stop the hate cdss, dignity health, blue shield wellness, south central la regional center, measure b stop the hate, uwh4g back office stipend, uwh4g intrastructure, California mental health services authority, taxonomy, caresuite taxonomy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 69% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.

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: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $160.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.8%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.5% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $20M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $269K · 14 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

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: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.