Fiesta Sports Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860253821
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Phone
4803500900
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,279,145
Expenses
$15,448,765
Assets
$95,170,004
Liabilities
$2,219,464

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

Leadership & pay

39 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIK MOSES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIK MOSES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO): $761,430 total reported compensation
  • HOPE M SHARETT (CHIEF LEGAL & STRATEGY OFFICER): $281,479 total reported compensation
  • KRISTINA CHUMPOL (CHIEF OF STAFF/VP OF COMM. INV): $218,887 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 fiesta sports foundation is home to the premier college football playoff postseason game, the vrbo fiesta bowl, the fan-friendly rate bowl and multiple year-round live sports and entertainment events that fuel our mission to deliver positive economic impact and charitable resources that benefit communities across the state of Arizona.our vision is to be Arizona's leading organization in creating unforgettable experiences through world-class sporting events, unparalleled hospitality and life-changing community impact. Focused on pillars of youth, sports and education.

What it reported doing in 2024

Fiesta sports foundation annually stages the fiesta bowl, which is part of the college football playoff (cfp) system. The game is played in state farm stadium in glendale, Arizona. The 54th annual fiesta bowl was a cfp quarterfinal matchup played on december 31, 2024. Penn state defeated boise state 31-14 in front of nearly 64,000 attendees. An estimated 3,000 volunteers contribute approximately 15,000 hours of their time as community service to help put on the bowl and related game day events. As a nonprofit organization, we believe in the importance of fostering a culture of community engagement and service. Over the past 15 years, it is estimated that the fiesta bowl and its surrounding events have contributed to generating over $3 billion in economic impact for Arizona and nearly $35 million in charitable giving through its corporate affiliate. To local organizations and educators, through programs like wishes for teachers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

SUPPORTED - 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.9%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.6%; rating input score 97; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.4%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.16; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.9% of revenue deployed · 89% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 29 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $761K · 39 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.2M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.