PLUS ME Project

Legal name: The Plus Me Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463506663
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Los Angeles, CA, US
Phone
3234416700
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,005,549
Expenses
$896,884
Assets
$640,287
Liabilities
$30,229

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICHARD ORTIZ-REYES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • ROSITA MEDINA (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICHARD ORTIZ-REYES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $100,708 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

PLUS ME Project activates the art of personal storytelling to increase confidence in youth as they pursue college, career, and life goals.

What it reported doing in 2024

Writers plus me builds upon the work that was completed in our storytelers plus me program. Students continue to reflect on their story, but focus more attention on their writing. With help of our customized my story matters journals, students learn how to further articulate important moments from their lives and draft their stories. Every student concludes the workshop series by completing a drafted piece of their personal narrative.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

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: 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: 10.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.2%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.1% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 71.6% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $717K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $101K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.