Center for Independence FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Lakewood, WA501(c)(3)Since 1993ReligionEIN 91-1577469Revenue $1.5M in FY2021

On file with the IRScenterforindependence.org7801 Bridgeport Way W W 200, 98499-8440 · Lakewood, WATax-exempt since Feb 1998Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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The Center for Independence (cfi) serves as a resource for individuals with disabilities to fully access and participate in the community through outreach, advocacy, and independent living skills development.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
67¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$68K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
6 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $223K a year · 13% of revenue · last 6 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 6 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
67%
of spending
Fine: 67% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$68K
to officers and key staff · 6% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 6% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
5 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 4.8 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $376K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$48K
6% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 6% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 7 voting members
Looks good: 7 of 7 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.5M
+51% vs prior year
Spent
$1.2M
To programs
67%
Net assets
$696K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$1.5M
FY2021▲ +51%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$996K
FY2021$1.5M
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.4M
FY2024$2.3M
FY2025$3.3M
Expenses
$1.2M
FY2021▲ +21%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$994K
FY2021$1.2M
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$1.9M
FY2025$2.8M
Net assets
$696K
FY2021▲ +75%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$399K
FY2021$696K
FY2022$740K
FY2023$762K
FY2024$1.1M
FY2025$2.0M

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending September 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 1998.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

67 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 67% · $810K Management & general 33% · $393K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

8 people listed on the 990; $68K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$68,205Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Leah Velasco’s $104K as Executive Director (resigned) is at the 53rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1636 $1–10M religion 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Leah Velasco$103,610$75,536$54,883$71,170$68,205$49,154
Faith Brown$6,154—————

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.

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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

Empowers individuals with disabilities to participate fully in their communities through advocacy and skills training.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $810K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Advocacy

Cfi provides both systems and individual advocacy in order to mere effectively provide these services. Cfi has two distinct service areas: our lakewood location serves thurston, pierce and south king county.

$810Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$376K

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.5M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.4M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$116K
Investment incomeLn 3$357
Money outPt IX
$1.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$810K
Managementcol C$393K
Owns and owesPt X
$696K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$476K
Total assetsLn 16$744K
LiabilitiesLn 26$48K
PeoplePt VI, VII
8
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.4M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.3M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$29K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$116K
Investment incomeLn 3$357
Total revenueLn 12$1.5M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$376K
SavingsLn 2$100K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$476K
Total assetsLn 16$744K
LiabilitiesLn 26$48K
Net assetsLn 32$696K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 526
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderSeptember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$333K$476K
Total assetsLn 16$452K$744K
LiabilitiesLn 26$53K$48K
Net assetsLn 32$399K$696K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$82K$82K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$503K$427K$76K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$43K$30K$13K
Payroll taxesLn 10$57K$32K$25K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$149K$83K$66K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$29K$29K
Office expensesLn 13$44K$32K$12K
OccupancyLn 16$108K$44K$64K
TravelLn 17$17K$17K$707
InsuranceLn 23$3K$3K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$168K$145K$23K
All other expensesLn 24e$970$970
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.2M$810K$393K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $3.3M$2.8M$541K$2.0M 990 PDF
FY2024 $2.3M$1.9M$382K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.4M$1.3M$74K$762K 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.1M$1.1M$44K$740K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $1.5M$1.2M$298K$696K 990 PDF
FY2020 $996K$994K$1K$399K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,500,278 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $895,566$1,383,867
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $99,529$116,054
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $691$357
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $995,786$1,500,278
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $611,255$684,668
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $383,165$518,002
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $994,420$1,202,670
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $1,366$297,608
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, 3 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body7
VI-1b Independent voting members7
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,500,278 across 7 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$1,341,315
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$42,552
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$29,100
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,383,867
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $116,054$116,054
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $357$357
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $116,054 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $357$1,500,278
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,202,670 across 12 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffManagement $81,719$81,719
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $426,729 · Management $75,837$502,566
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $30,142 · Management $13,199$43,341
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $31,601 · Management $25,441$57,042
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $82,745 · Management $65,916$148,661
IX-12 Advertising and promotionManagement $29,100$29,100
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $31,879 · Management $11,652$43,531
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $43,867 · Management $63,709$107,576
IX-17 TravelPrograms $16,644 · Management $707$17,351
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $3,265$3,265
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $144,951 · Management $22,597$167,548
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $970$970
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $809,528 · Management $393,142 · Fundraising $0$1,202,670
Part X · Balance sheet $744,310 assets, 11 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $233,102$376,088
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $100,134$100,249
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $118,943$255,447
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$12,526
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $452,179$744,310
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $53,497$48,020
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $53,497$48,020
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $279,739$540,290
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $118,943$156,000
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $398,682$696,290
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $452,179$744,310
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $696,290 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,500,278
XI-2 Total expenses$1,202,670
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$297,608
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$398,682
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$696,290

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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