Bellevue Botanical Garden Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 911333659
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Bellevue, WA, USA
- Phone
- 4256003837
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,689,532
- Expenses
- $1,388,497
- Assets
- $5,894,019
- Liabilities
- $112,233
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TRACY BOTSFORD (PRESIDENT)
- KATHRYN CARLSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
- JOSEPH ABKEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- JOSEPH ABKEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $134,022 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
See schedule o
What it reported doing in 2024
Children's program: our youth and children's program have been a hallmark of our organization for over 30 years. Notably our living lab program serves the bellevue school district. Living lab is a free 2-hour program to public, private and home schoolers for grades kindergarten through 5th. 47 class sessions, 42 class days offered, 40 class days filled, 8 days had 2 groups simultaneously on the same day, two of those afternoons were off-site at a preschool. One day had two curriculums for a spring break camp (paid). 2,036 students were served by our living lab programs for the 2023-2024 fy. In addition to living lab, we offer a preschool level program called kids in the garden as well as a youth and children's workshops that provide a range of curriculum focused on outdoor activities, horticulture, gardening, and art. 846 youth were served through these program elements. The bulk of our expense is the paid educators who execute the program.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 71
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71.1%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 71.2%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 17.8%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.24; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 71.1% of revenue deployed · 71.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $988K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.