The La Vie Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954408335
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Pasadena, CA, USA
Phone
6263519616
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Mental Health, Crisis Intervention N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,546,063
Expenses
$1,528,524
Assets
$137,028
Liabilities
$6,128

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR MARK W BAKER PHD (PRESIDENT/TREAS)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR MARK W BAKER PHD (PRESIDENT/TREAS): $13,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide mental, health, and social services to the community on a nonsectarian basis.

What it reported doing in 2025

Nonprofit counseling center training beginning psycho-therapists and providing low cost psycho-therapy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 94%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 1.1%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.09; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.9% of revenue deployed · 94% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $13K · 5 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $659K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.