Livingston Business Improvement Dis

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452805610
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Livingston, MT, USA
Phone
4062209600
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$273,975
Expenses
$329,330
Assets
$210,356
Liabilities
$3,196

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

People named in this filing

  • MEGAN EUBANK (SECRETARY/TR)
  • JEFF GALLI (BOARD MEMBER)
  • DALE HOPKINS (BOARD VICE C)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the lbid is to facilitate an improved business climate, which is heavily dependent on tourism. The lbid also improves the functional characteristics of the business district, such as enhancing the streetscape, conducting the maintenance that the city of livingston does not have the funds to perform, improving security and safety, conserving the historical nature of the downtown area, and develop a strong, aggressive marketing program to advertise the area. The lbid was formed in 2011 after a majority (60%+)of the downtown business owners signed a petition in favor of creating the district, which was then approved by the city commission. In fiscal 2021, by vote of the city commission, the lbid was renewed for an additional 10 years, expiring in march 2031. Property owners within the district pay an additional tax to fund the purposes of the lbid.

What it reported doing in 2024

Some of the ongoing programs funded by the lbid include graffiti mitigation, maintenance of sidewalk trash cans, installing and maintaining flower baskets, holiday decorations, and a banner program to advertise local nonprofits and events. Lbid also participated financially and collaboratively with other local nonprofits to develop a single brand identity and advertising campaign. The organization has also taken on the project of enhancing and installing the annual holiday decorations in the downtown area. Since 2021, the lbid has also receiving funding from the convention and visitors bureau to further promote tourism in the area, as well as handle incoming funds from the tourism business improvement district. Small grants were made to other nonprofits in the downtown area, who promote similar missions. The largest event of the year is the annual light up livingston holiday event. Lbid pairs with several other nonprofits, including the holiday lights committee, the depot foundation, and local schools. This event has grown over the past three years to thousands of attendees, many of them out-of-town tourists as word has spread.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 67% for direct work, and 33% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 94.6%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.6%; rating input score 91; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -20.2%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -22.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 94.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $312K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 24 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.