Vip Community Mental Health Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 300017808
IRS 990 coverage: 2009–2024
Forms available: Form 990 2024
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone: 3232214134
Rating: 80
Verdict: STRONG
Rating confidence: Moderate
Sector: Mental Health Treatment F31 Psychiatric, Mental Health Hospital

Reported finances

Revenue: $15,378,377
Expenses: $12,426,159
Assets: $19,462,424
Liabilities: $1,252,007

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

ASTRID HEPPENSTALL HEGER MD (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

MARIBEL MEJIA (CHIER OPERATING OFFICER): $218,076 total reported compensation
ASTRID HEPPENSTALL HEGER MD (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $208,308 total reported compensation
BIN LI (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $178,696 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Intervening to protect and treat all victims of violence

What it reported doing in 2024

Vip's programs are aimed at treating victims of violence, with a specific focus on high-risk children and youth who have been abused and who are either at risk for or involved in the foster care system, as well as those transitioning out of dcfs supervision. While vip serves over 60% of children entering foster care in los angeles, the agency also provides critical mental health support to vulnerable populations, including lgbtq+ youth, commercially sexually exploited children, pregnant and parenting teens, and victims of sexual assault or family violence. Our community mental health center operates monday through thursday from 8 am to 8 pm and friday from 8 am to 6 pm. No other program in los angeles has the same geographic scope, breadth of population, or programmatic focus.

Operating model

Revenue model: Grant-funded. 88% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.

Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 74
Transparency & Controls: 74
Accountability: 100
Sustainability: 67
Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 67.9%; rating input score 68
Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
Fundraising efficiency: $46.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

Operating margin: 19.2%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.57; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: 67.9% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.3M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $218K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $587K reported
Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
Contacts: How to reach this organization
Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
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.

Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.