Fulton Avenue Improvement Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943285569
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9169781288
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$482,196
Expenses
$492,079
Assets
$65,288
Liabilities
$7,901

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Melinda Eppler (Executive Dir.): $102,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Developed by a coalition of property and business owners, the Fulton Avenue Improvement Association is a Benefit Assessment District formed to improve the commercial area of Fulton Avenue in Sacramento, California. The District manages a landscape and street scape improvement plan, an economic development program, a security program, and provides marketing and promotion services. Additionally, the Association provides business interest advocacy services above and beyond those currently provided by the County of Sacramento. This approach has been used successfully in other commercial areas throughout the country to improve business image, attract new customers and increase property values.The Association's goal is to improve and distinguish Fulton Avenue as one of the most attractive areas in the greater Sacramento region. The Association is funded through direct levies (Fulton Avenue Improvement Association) on real estate property tax bills for businesses located in the district. Fund

What it reported doing in 2024

The Association is a direct levy entity created under the authority of the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994 (Streets and Highways code 36600). Direct levies are added to secured property tax bills and collected by Sacramento County. These funds are then remitted to the Association for the benefit of the Direct Levy District.The District manages a landscape and streetscape improvement plan, an economic development program, a security program, and provides marketing and promotion services. Additionally, the Association provides business interest advocacy services, above and beyond those currently provided by the County of Sacramento. This approach has been used successfully in other commercial areas throughout the country to improve business image, attract new customers and increase property values.Fulton Avenue is centrally located in the heart of Sacramento County and the heart of the greater Sacramento Region. It is an area that was originally crossed by the Pony Express and has a rich historical significance. In recent times it has served as the premier location for automotive retail and is famous for a wide variety of restaurants and fine dining. At the north end of Fulton Avenue is the championship 36-hole Haggin Oaks Golf Course. In the center of the district, at the northeast corner of Fulton Avenue and Marconi Avenue is the newly renovated Town & County Village. Just west of Fulton Avenue, on Arden Way, is our region's most successful and largest shopping center, Arden Fair Mall. On the south end of Fulton Avenue are several of Sacramento's finest neighborhoods.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 94.2%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.13; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.8%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.1% of revenue deployed · 94.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $463K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $102K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.