Youth Empowerments Finest

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474341536
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
6193840916
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,546,002
Expenses
$1,595,647
Assets
$360,845
Liabilities
$343,032

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ARTHUR SORIANO (PRESIDENT)
  • REGINALD WASHINGTON (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ARTHUR SORIANO (PRESIDENT): $110,808 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mentorship and gang prevention programs for at-risk youth

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, a major accomplishment for our organization was gaining approval to bill medi-cal for the services we provide to particpants aged 26 and under. This marks a significant step toward long-term sustainability, allowing us to generate reimbursement for critical services while reducing our reliance on grant funding. This change represents a strategic shift in our funding model and expands our capacity to serve more individuals with consistent, quality care.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 92% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 61
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 88.9%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • 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: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.2%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.23; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.95; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.9%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 33.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.8% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.8% of revenue deployed · 88.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $111K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.