Would-Works Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811484179
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
3233561319
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Homeless Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$209,065
Expenses
$177,982
Assets
$45,715
Liabilities
$30,413

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michele Liu (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michele Liu (Executive Director): $47,223 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

At Would Works, we are committed to help youth with barriers to employment to heal, learn new skills, grow their confidence and prepare for their next opportunities, by providing paid, creative, hands-on woodworking training in a supportive community. We envision a future where communities and systems work together to advance human dignity, increasing creative economic opportunities for all and enabling people to thrive in balance with each other. Thus demonstrating that more equitable workforce models are possible.

What it reported doing in 2025

On average, Would Works Core Training Programs (Beginner Builders Program and Community Builders Program) provides paid job training for up to 35 participants on an annual basis. However in 2025, due to shifts towards a reimagined job training structure, we focused our pilot program on training a group of 6 individuals and building a new co-teaching partnership with My Friends Place, another 501(c)(3) based in Los Angeles. Our Education Outreach Programs (Peoples Builders Program and Would Works Community Courses) reached over 200 individuals through free micro-workshops for Skid Row and nonprofit housing residents, attendees of job and resource fairs in LA Countys SPA4 and folks interested in learning new skills through sliding-scale woodworking classes in our main woodshop location. Together, these programs advanced economic mobility and made a positive impact on LAs unhoused youth community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.2%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 64.8%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.9%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.26; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.67; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.5%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -33.7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.2% of revenue deployed · 64.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $115K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $47K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.