Grace Fisher Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 922861695
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2024
- Location
- Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8056996560
- Rating
- 58
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,126,480
- Expenses
- $215,784
- Assets
- $911,356
- Liabilities
- $660
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Brett Grimes (Board President/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Grace Fisher (Founder & Creative Director): $23,550 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The foundation empowers individuals with disabilities, supports their families, and fosters inclusion for all through free and accessible arts, music, movement, therapeutic partnerships, community programs, and disability inclusion education.
What it reported doing in 2025
The organizations provides individuals with disabilities free access to music, art, dance, and other artistic programs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 37
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 56
- Sustainability: 82
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 16.5%; rating input score 16
- Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: 55.6%; rating input score 56; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 80.8%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.22; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 16.5% of revenue deployed · 82.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $179K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $24K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 16/100.
- Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 56/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.