Pathways La
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Pathways LA strengthens low-income and vulnerable working families, promotes high quality early care and education services for children of all abilities, develops knowledgeable early care providers, and promotes economically resilient communities.
- Income
- $66.3 million
- Spending
- $64.9 million
- Spent on programs
- 94%
- Reserves
- 0.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 99%
- Employees
- 123
- Volunteers
- 50
- Highest pay
- $373,045, president & ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 51 out of 100. Higher than 30% of charities in its peer group (human services, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
4 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 0.7 months of spending.
Debt
2 of 20It owes 76% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 2% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 8% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1594% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 35% of charities in its peer group (human services, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 10 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $58.8 million spent. Child Care Financial Assistance: Provides childcare subsidies to low-income working families. The program also provides childcare for children in the foster care system and homeless families. The West Hollywood Preschool: Provides free and reduced-cost early care and education to preschoolers, ages 2.5-5 years old, preparing them for successful entry into kindergarten classrooms. The Pathways LA Child Development Center: Provides free and reduced-cost early care and education, as well as private-pay options, for children 6 weeks to 5 years old, preparing them for successful entry into kindergarten classrooms. Enrolled 5,489 children in partial or fully subsidized childcare services. 75% of families served are single-parent households. More than 10 languages are spoken by the families.
- $1.6 million spent. Other programs include Quality Start Los Angeles (QSLA) provider coaching, Family Child Care Home Education Network provider coaching program, Emergency Foster Care Bridge Program, Trauma Informed Care Training & Coaching services, Family Engagement, and the Books, Bikes, & Full Bellies Campaign.See Schedule O for further details. Other Programs consist of the following:QRIS: QSLA supports professionals from licensed childcare centers and family childcare homes through professional development, including specialized training sessions, individualized coaching, and access to cutting-edge resources and funding opportunities.FCCHEN:Pathways LA also provides professional development coaching services through our Family Child Care Home Education Network (FCCHEN). FCCHEN is a group of licensed family childcare providers in MetroLos Angeles, which are carefully selected home-based programs that combine the standards of a first-rate childcare center with the personal touch and familiarity of a home environment. Participants in FCCHEN receive ongoing training, professional development, and technical assistance, as well as individual on-site or virtual coaching sessions.Foster Care Bridge: The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children is a unique childcare subsidy program that not only provides eligible families with a time-limited childcare voucher to help pay for childcare costs for foster children, birth through age 5, and their siblings, but also offers Trauma-Informed Care services to childcare programs across Los Angeles County. Trauma-Informed Care Training & Coaching Services are provided to childcare providers serving children enrolled in this program. Childcare providers receive specialized, evidence-based training on a variety of trauma-informed care topics, including the core curriculum series, historical trauma topics, and trauma-informed care specific to infants and toddlers. In addition, childcare providers receive individual on-site or virtual coaching sessions to help them integrate their learning into practice.Family Engagement: Pathways LA acknowledges the need to support families beyond the need for child care; therefore, we offer the Family Engagement (FE) Program, which aims to lift the strengths of the family, educate and empower parents/caregivers, reduce parental stress that can contribute to abuse and neglect, and increase school-readiness based on the Strengthening Families Framework. In the FE program we offer Parent Education and Training: focused on supporting parent/caregiver knowledge and awareness of various child development topics; Play & Learn Groups: small group settings that include story-time and activities bringing families, children, and caregivers together to model positive adult-child interaction with activities easily duplicated in the home; Parent Cafes: small group settings where parents explore different parenting topics, providing them with the opportunity to learn from other parents and build social connections within their community; Special Events: throughout the year we offer a variety of large group gatherings that offer free and safe opportunities for families to partake in activities, live entertainment, gather information from other community resources, receive food, toys, books, and other family essentials.Books, Bikes, & Full Bellies: In honor of the legacy of Jessie Salazar, Pathways LAs former Executive Director, who served the agency for 27 years and passed away in September 2020, we launched an annual fundraiser to provide books, bikes, and food boxes to children and families in the communities, representing various passions of Jessies and meeting the needs of those that we serve.Total program expenses were $1,582,850.
- $668,338 spent. Child Care Resource & Referrals: Providing referrals to licensed childcare providers for all families in our community.Child Care Provider Resources: Offering training and technical assistance services to help new and existing childcare providers obtain licenses, improve their learning environments, include children with special needs, and advance their childcare business.* Pathways LA had over 45,199 calls requesting services.* Pathways LA trained 1,544 childcare providers.* Pathways LA provided 125 developmental trainings in English and Spanish.* Pathways LA provided 97 training courses on technical assistance for early childhood educators.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 1978.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
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