We were curious about membership numbers for the Los Angeles Conservancy through the pandemic, so looked up their their 990 tax filings on the California Charities Registry. Although we have viewed their page in the past, the Los Angeles Conservancy didn’t come up in a registry search. We sent a message to the Registrar, asking if this was a glitch in the system. Today, the Registrar replied:
Searching for 038277 as directed returned the missing filings and correspondence that no longer appeared in the standard database. Included is a troubling letter from Attorney General Rob Bonta sent on January 26, 2022, informing the Conservancy that it is delinquent for failing to submit required annual report(s) and/or renewal fees.
Another letter from January 25, 2022 informs the Conservancy that their check is being returned because they have not included Form RRF-1 nor IRS Form 990 for the accounting period of 12/31/2020. They are given 60 days in which to provide the missing documents. This letter appears to have triggered the delinquency notice sent the following day.
According to that January 26 letter: “An organization that is listed as delinquent is not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 11, § 999.9.4.)” You can read this letter and see all the recent documents here.
The Registrar has confirmed that as of June 18, 2022 the Los Angeles Conservancy is still delinquent and cannot legally fundraise, despite hosting a Last Remaining Seats screening of Notorious at the Los Angeles Theatre tonight and collecting monthly membership dues. The Conservancy is the largest member-based preservation nonprofit in the country, doing important work. We’re very concerned and troubled by this situation, and hope it can be resolved quickly and transparently.
Update, June 28, 2022: The Los Angeles Conservancy’s status on the California Charities Registry has been updated to “Current – Probationary Registration.” The organization still cannot be located in the Registry Verification Search by name, but shows up when you enter the RCT Number 038277.
The status is explained as follows: “Current – Probationary Registration – Status assigned to charity registrants with restrictions due to violations of the Supervision Act who, subject to the terms of probation, may continue to operate and solicit donations. The specific terms may be found in a copy of the probation agreement or order which is available in an organization’s online details, Filings & Correspondence section, using the Registry Verification Search tool.”
There is no probation agreement or order associated with the Los Angeles Conservancy’s account at this time.