Camp Lightbulb

Legal name: Camp Lightbulb Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452643441
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Palm Springs, CA, US
Phone
(323) 484-7993
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Cultural Exchange

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$319,540
Expenses
$340,045
Assets
$94,129
Liabilities
$101,077

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • GORDON MARKHAM (Chairman): $78,138 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Camp Lightbulb creates a magical and meaningful overnight summer experience for LGBTQ+ high school students, filled with fun, pride, community, friends, support, self-confidence, resiliency, and memories to last a lifetime.

What it reported doing in 2024

Camp Lightbulb celebrates LGBTQ+ youth ages 14 to 18 with magical summer camp experiences filled with fun, pride, community, friends, support, self-discovery, and memories to last a lifetime. We host summer camps in Los Angeles, Provincetown, and New York City, connecting and inspiring our campers with the most vibrant, diverse, and inclusive members of our communities and each other.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 55
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.8%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 59%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.4%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.07; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 62.8% of revenue deployed · 59% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $201K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $78K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.