Casa Del Herrero

What it reported doing in 2024

When visitors come to casa del herrero, or the "house of the blacksmith", they are transported back to montecito in the 1920's and 1930's - the heyday of the original owner george fox steedman. Designed by george Washington smith, the casa is one of the finest examples of spanish colonial revival architecture in america. It is inlcuded on the national register of historic places and maintains national historic landmark status in part due to its eclectic mix of country place ara and moorish inspired gardens created by ralph stevens, lockwood de forest, and francis t. Underhill. Today, the 11-acre estate operates with the goal of preserving the house and grounds, as well as the steeman family's collection of fifteenth and sixteenth-century fine and decorative art objects from the "golden age" of spain, books, sketchbooks, drawings, and horticultural records. Casa del herrero is preserved and stewarded for the benefit of the community. In a typical year, casa del herrero is visited by more than 2,500 people, which includes individuals taking the guided tour, school children , and lifelong learners. Visitors on the guided tour inlcude the montecito and greater santa barara communities in addition to the individuals visiting from throughout the united states, and beyond. Ninety minute tours are available on wednesdays and saturdays at 10:00 a.m. And 2:00 p.m., and require advanced reservations.children have the benefit of learnings about the history of the house, the art collection, and garden plants through school field trips while lifelong learners are often comprised of garden enthusasits and artisans. Twenty-one volunteers provide a great benefit giving more than 1,000 hours to support casa's needs including leading the guided tours, and provding garden maintenance. In addiiton, fruit from the casa's extensive orchard is given to the foodbank of santa barbara county as part of its backyard bounty program. With more than 500 pounds of fruit gleaned at a time, the casa is contributing thousands of pounds of produce to the one in four indviduals experiencing food insecurity throughout santa barbara county.additionally, community outreach was provided through the year in the form of donor engagement, membership, event invitations, publicity and advertising, and community presentations.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 36.7%; rating input score 37
• Program expense ratio: 58.9%; rating input score 59
• Fundraising efficiency: $14.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st 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: Limited
• 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: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 42.3%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.62; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings