Japanese Garden Society of Oregon

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930511171
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032231321
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Garden Club, Horticultural Program

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,121,084
Expenses
$13,911,324
Assets
$43,904,988
Liabilities
$3,978,342

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

Leadership & pay

37 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAUL SCHOMMER (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • TRISH ADAMS (BOARD PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • YOSHIO KUROSAKI (BOARD VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ALICE WIEWEL (BOARD VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DRAKE SNODGRASS (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • LISA CHRISTY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHEN D BLOOM (CHIEF EXEC. OFFICER (THRU DEC. '24)): $434,960 total reported compensation
  • LISA CHRISTY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $206,376 total reported compensation
  • DIANE FREEMAN (CFO (THRU DEC. '24)): $179,058 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Inspiring harmony and peace.

What it reported doing in 2024

Admissions/visitation/display of various styles of japanese gardens: in 2024, we realized attendance from nearly 408,000 visitors, members, and guests, providing to them a sense of harmony and peace, within the cultural and educational experience of japanese gardens and related programming.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 58
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -6%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.16; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.2%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.1% of revenue deployed · 77% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $10.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $435K · 37 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $134K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.