Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 2005.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
77 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to fix it
Who runs it and what they're paid
12 people listed on the 990; $159K paid to officers and key staff.
Jaime Balboa’s $159K as Executive Director is at the 69th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3394 $1–10M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaime Balboa | $159,149 | $159,149 | $147,555 | $31,259 | — | — |
| Joel Arquillos | — | — | — | $159,029 | $130,000 | $126,863 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See 826la executive salaries →On this list? Claim this org
Something off? Claim to fix it
Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Offers free tutoring and writing programs for children.
Questions for 826la
Your first name shows with your question. 826la answers here, for everyone.
Know this org? Add your story
Tutoring
826LA'S tutoring programs served 207 students twice weekly, providing consistent homework assistance and creative writing instruction that culminated in the publication of student chapbooks. At our echo park and mar vista writing centers, the write on!
In-Schools Support
During the 2024-25 school year, 826LA reached a record 4,475 students through direct classroom partnerships and specialized writers' rooms at manual arts, roosevelt, and venice high schools. By integrating creative and expository writing into school curricula, the program fosters a robust culture of literacy.
Field Trips
826LA hosted 2,918 students from 42 schools through interactive sessions at our writing centers and via our traveling field trip program. Designed to spark a lifelong love for writing, these trips guide students through collective brainstorming and original storytelling.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.5M | $1.3M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $1.1M | |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $0 | $0 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.0M | $3.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $514K | $518K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $3.5M | $3.0M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $165K | $77K | $21K | $66K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.3M | $1.0M | $71K | $218K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $15K | $12K | $710 | $2K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $138K | $103K | $9K | $27K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $111K | $83K | $7K | $21K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $31K | $8K | $20K | $3K |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $6K | $6K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $177K | $150K | $9K | $18K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $17K | $14K | $828 | $2K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $240K | $204K | $12K | $24K |
| TravelLn 17 | $12K | $10K | $577 | $1K |
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $60K | $51K | $3K | $6K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $19K | $16K | $942 | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $196K | $162K | $13K | $21K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.5M | $1.9M | $174K | $410K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $2.0M | $2.5M | −$485K | $3.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $2.3M | $2.2M | $36K | $3.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.1M | $2.5M | −$331K | $3.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.5M | $2.3M | $140K | $3.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $2.5M | $1.8M | $670K | $3.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $2.2M | $2.0M | $206K | $2.9M | 990 PDF |
More to add? Claim this org
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,006,827 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 11 of 12 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,006,827 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,491,492 across 14 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $3,525,294 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $3,006,936 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit
Names, privacy, and removal requests More
The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.
Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.
We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.
Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.
If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.
Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.
If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.
Your org? Add context
Made it to the end? Claim this org