United Way of Central Louisiana Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
720462338
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Alexandria, LA, USA
Phone
3184437203
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$639,461
Expenses
$968,563
Assets
$804,455
Liabilities
$32,901

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CINDY CESPIVA (PRESIDENT/CEO 9/10/2025 TO 12/31/2025)
  • MICHELLE PURL (PRESIDENT/CEO UNTIL 8/26/2025)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHELLE PURL (PRESIDENT/CEO UNTIL 8/26/2025): $63,668 total reported compensation
  • CINDY CESPIVA (PRESIDENT/CEO 9/10/2025 TO 12/31/2025): $14,667 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

United way of central Louisiana, inc. Is a nonprofit corporation located in alexandria, Louisiana, whose mission is to empower members of the community through access to and improvement in education, health, and financial stability.

What it reported doing in 2025

The goal of financial stability programs is to increase financial mobility and socioeconomic status of individuals and families. The focus is on alice (asset limited, income constrained, employed), building stronger families, vita (volunteer income tax assistance), lapri (Louisiana prisoner reentry initiative), 2-1-1 program, disaster preparedness, and power to care. The organization also provides community investment grants to support agencies that align with the organization's focus and create partnerships to improve the community. Alice programs assist households that earn above the federal poverty level but cannot afford the basic cost of living.building stronger families programs provide knowledge and opportunity for a financially stable future through a scheduled training program, financial incentive and savings match and success coaching.vita provides free person-to-person tax help for individuals.lapri creates safer neighborhoods and better citizens by implementing a seamless plan of services and supervision developed with each returning citizen from imprisonment through transition, reintegration and aftercare in the community. Every prisoner returns to their community with the tools & resources needed for success.the 211 program is a free confidential service that offers convenient community connection to information and resources provided by trained, experienced staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This resource provides fast access to a database of community services in order to provide information about food, shelter, utility assistance, emergency and disaster relief, employment, education, veterans services, health care, addiction prevention and rehabilitation programs, support groups for mental illness or special needs, and a safe, confidential path out of physical and/or emotional domestic abuse.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 83% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 57.5%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 85.9%; rating input score 86; 40th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -51.5%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -16.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13.5% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.9% of revenue deployed · 57.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $557K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $64K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 33 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.