The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 133999267
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Economic Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $360,082
- Expenses
- $383,858
- Assets
- $902,362
- Liabilities
- $25,425
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARCELA ESLAVA (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MAIRA COLACCE (EXECUTIVE SE): $10,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
1) to encourage research and teaching related to the economics of latin american and caribbean countries and to foster dialogue among researchers and practitioners whose work focuses on the economies of the region. As a matter of policy, lacea welcomes economists of all nationalities, theoretical orientations and policy perspectives. 2) to encourage interaction among scholars, teachers and policy-makers residing and working in latin america and the caribbean and professionals residing outside the region. 3) to sponsor programs, meetings, conferences and other opportunities for scholarly exchange among individuals and organizations concerned with the economies of latin american and caribbean nations. In this capacity, lacea can act both independently and as a member of other professional or nonprofit associations.
What it reported doing in 2025
Research grants: to help promote the interaction of young and seasoned economists, as well as social scientists and development practitioners, lacea sponsors twelve networks in the field of capacity building. Each network - inequality and poverty (nip), political economy (peg), trade, integration and growth in latin america (tign), impact evaluation (ien), finance camps (ie&f), america latina crime and policy (al capone), labor network, health economics network, behavioral economics network (brain), urban economics network (laurban), humans migration network and economic history network - holds annual meetings in different regions of latin america.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Membership-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 69% for direct work, and 31% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 37
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.4%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 84.4%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st 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; 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: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -6.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.35; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 90.4% of revenue deployed · 84.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $324K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $10K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.