Focus On The Masters Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 770498291
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Ventura, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8056532501
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $287,203
- Expenses
- $253,817
- Assets
- $490,133
- Liabilities
- $37,386
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Virginia Furmanski (President)
- Donna Granata (Executive Director)
People named in this filing
- Yvette Franklin (Secretary)
- Mary Ellen Herrera (Treasurer)
- Richard Franklin (Director)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Art appreciation program that documents, preserves and presents the works and lives of accomplished contemporary artists. We emphasize the importance of the arts to a healthly society.
What it reported doing in 2025
Archiving/Artist Docmentation - FOTM has two objectives:1)to document and archive extraordinary artists and their work through the collection of photographic portraits, ephemera, audio and video interviews and biographical research that encompass each artist's experiences, artistic reflections and development; and 2) to present this work to a broad public though extensive education outreach to all ages. All of the Focus on the Masters programing stems from the documentation of the artists and their files that are housed within the archive and library.405 estimated attended lectures and 320,000 estimated listeners through TV/Broadcast/Radio exposure.
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 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 44
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 56
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 45.4%; rating input score 45
- Program expense ratio: 50.8%; rating input score 51
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- 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: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 11.6%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.93; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 45.4% of revenue deployed · 50.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $129K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 51/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.