Golden Gate Council of American Youth Hostels Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237099414
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Silver Spring, MD, USA
Phone
2406502100
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Promotion of International Understanding

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,569,623
Expenses
$7,108,761
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Nicholas S Andrade (President)
  • Jonathan Kurshan (Vice President)
  • Danielle Brumfitt (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Javier Bujanda (Dir. Finance & Operations): $127,510 total reported compensation
  • Danielle Brumfitt (Executive Director): $22,903 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of Hostelling International is "To help all, especially the young, gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through hostelling."

What it reported doing in 2013

Part of a worldwide educational movement, our Council achieves its purpose through our hostels and educational programs; building bridges between people of varying backgrounds, encouraging a conservation ethic, and promoting world peace and intercultural understanding. The Golden Gate Council operates 8 hostels in Northern California, including three in San Francisco, and several educational programs for hostel guests and the local community. Offering far more than just a "cheap sleep," HI hostels provide an educational programmatic experience for our guests that: - Promotes intercultural interaction among travelers, - Provides them with a "sense of place", - Increases awareness and appreciation of the natural world, and - Encourages cross-cultural understanding and international friendships.This year's achievements include:- Served over 196,000 overnight guests and program participants at our eight Council operated hostels in Northern California.- Deepened our programmatic relationship with both the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco and schools in need of art programming by expanding our "Community Walls" program, which engages underserved youth participants and facilitates the expression of their community around them through artwork, to continue throughout the summer season for the first time.- Expanded our impact on our local community by beginning a partnership with the San Mateo County Library system which will see the launch of a Travel 101 speaking series delivered at no fee to community members across San Mateo. Topics covered range from "Trip Planning 101" to "Women Travelling Solo" to "The Free and Independent Gay Traveler".- Increased opportunities for cross-cultural communication and interactions through the additions, renovations and capital improvements at all eight Council operated hostels.- Expanded our impact in overnight delivery by utilizing the new group facility and a new family room at our San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf hostel to expand our mission delivery to emerging populations of family and group guests.- Continued to focus on environmental sustainability in National Parks through initiatives such as the purchasing of energy credits to offset 120% of the carbon emissions produced by our hostel operations within the GGNRA.- Provided environmental education, team building, cultural awareness, sensitivity and interpersonal skills development for elementary through high school students through curriculum based program delivery. And for guests from across the world an across the US through hostel based program delivery.- Participated in country wide discussions and analysis to improve efficiencies and expand mission delivery across the US.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 98% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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. Assets have declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.3%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 88.2%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th 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; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 6.1%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -24.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.3% of revenue deployed · 88.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $128K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $183K reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2009 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.