Ventura County Leadership Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475675277
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Ventura, CA, USA
Phone
8052532683
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Leadership Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$258,726
Expenses
$208,244
Assets
$274,747
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PATTIE BRAGA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JENNIFER CALDWELL (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • PATTIE BRAGA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $136,277 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ventura county leadership academy's mission and purpose is to connect people and issues to strengthen our county.

What it reported doing in 2024

Ventura County Leadership Academy (VCLA) connects and cultivates a diverse network of passionate, capable leaders in the business, education, nonprofit, and public sectors, bringing people together and breaking down the silos we often find ourselves in. Through a 9-month, 10 session program, forty participants hear from local subject matter experts in the critical issues shaping Ventura County, including water, the economy, public safety, education, and social safety nets, to name a few. VCLA offers each cohort member an opportunity for personal and professional growth while promoting collaboration across sectors and selfless service to Ventura County.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 5
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.9%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.5%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.32; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 65.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.9% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 8 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $189K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $136K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • 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: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.