Beauty Bus Foundation

What it reported doing in 2025

Core programspop-up salons: beauty bus transforms hospitals and community health centers into uplifting salon experiences by bringing professional hairstylists, makeup artists, estheticians, and nail technicians directly to patients and caregivers. These events create moments of joy, normalcy, and community in environments often defined by stress and uncertainty. Up to 100 clients may be served during a single 3-hour event, with each guest receiving a bag of beauty containing $50$100 worth of donated products from leading beauty industry partners, extending care and encouragement beyond the day itself. Beauty series: the beauty series integrates beauty bus services directly into healthcare and social service settings through recurring weekly programming. By embedding licensed beauty professionals within hospitals and partner organizations, beauty bus ensures continuity of care and trusted relationships with patients and caregivers. Services such as facials, haircuts, wig fittings, scalp and skin care, and hand treatments are provided bedside, in infusion bays, or within designated communal salon spaces. Home visits: in partnership with the als network, beauty bus delivers professional salon services directly into the homes of als patients and their caregivers. These visits provide comfort, dignity, and respite to individuals whose mobility or health challenges make traditional salon access impossible.where we work beauty bus serves patients and caregivers across more than 26 healthcare and community partner locations throughout los angeles and orange county, including children's hospital los angeles, ronald mcdonald house charities, cancer support community, ucla mattel children's hospital, usc norris comprehensive cancer center, cedars-sinai, providence saint john's health center, rady children's hospital, and many additional hospitals, cancer centers, and supportive care organizations. 2025 highlights in 2025, the unprecedented los angeles wildfires directly impacted members of beauty bus leadership and many longtime supporters from pacific palisades. Despite these extraordinary challenges, beauty bus remained steadfast in its mission and commitment to delivering compassionate care every day. The year was marked by resilience, disciplined stewardship, measurable growth, and an unmistakable spirit of joy and purpose. Beauty bus significantly expanded service delivery throughout los angeles and orange county. During the year, the organization delivered 46 pop-up salons, up from 26 the previous year, and expanded from 3 to 8 weekly beauty series programs staffed by on-site beauty professionals. As a result, beauty bus served nearly 6,000 patients and caregivers in 2025 approximately double the number served in the prior year. In addition, beauty bus launched the oncology spa treatment program as a fully integrated weekly service within the infusion center at providence saint john's health center, providing mini facials and hand massage treatments to patients while they received medical care. The organization also developed customized beauty series programs tailored to the unique needs of specific healthcare environments, including bedside haircut services at children's hospital los angeles and specialized hair and skin care support within cancer treatment centers. Beauty bus also successfully reintroduced its home visits program through a new technology-supported booking platform that allows als patients and caregivers to directly schedule and manage in-home salon appointments. Launched in july 2025, the pilot program demonstrated strong demand and operational success, positioning beauty bus to expand home visits services to additional communities across los angeles county in 2026.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 48.4%; rating input score 48
• Program expense ratio: 71%; rating input score 71
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 33.6%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.11; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 17.1%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings