Congaree Vista Guild

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383715799
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Columbia, SC, USA
Phone
8032695946
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$581,300
Expenses
$593,916
Assets
$168,958
Liabilities
$120,889

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID ERBACHER (PRESIDENT)
  • CHERYL SWANSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ABBY ANDERSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ABBY ANDERSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $80,700 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The organization's mission is to promote, develop and preserve the unique characteristics that make the historic congaree vista neighborhood columbia's premier arts & entertainment district. The congaree vista is an official South Carolina cultural district, a state designation given in 2015.

What it reported doing in 2024

Clean and safe - the vista guild clean and safe team includes a full-time operations manager and two part time hospitality ambassadors/cleaning crew members. They are used as a compliment to city services including the columbia police department and public works. The downtown safety guides consist of golf cart and foot patrols during the day and into the evening hours. The guides are charged with giving public assistance and directions as well as showing a highly visible presence in our congaree vista district. The vista clean and safe team removes debris and graffiti from sidewalks and alleyways, and solves other maintenance issues including landscaping, plantings and reporting of code and other violations or problems to the proper city of columbia departments.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 83% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.9%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 91.9%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $124.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th 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: 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.2%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.72; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.9% of revenue deployed · 91.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $546K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $81K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.