Lobero Theatre Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 951831068
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2022
- Location
- Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8059664946
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Performing Arts Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,099,859
- Expenses
- $5,057,928
- Assets
- $16,758,197
- Liabilities
- $2,884,840
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHARLES DE L'ARBE (PRESIDENT)
- ROB HAMBLETON (VICE PRESIDENT)
- STEVE HAYES (PAST PRESIDENT)
- DAVID ASBELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DAVID ASBELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $231,643 total reported compensation
- TODD JARED (TECHNICAL DIRECTOR): $187,370 total reported compensation
- BRANDON MOWERY (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $154,552 total reported compensation
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 lobero theatre foundation is to maintain and operate the historic lobero theatre as a performing arts center and cultural asset to the community, and to present the highest quality productions in music, dance and theater.
What it reported doing in 2024
Our community access fund (caf) subsidizes the cost of performing on the lobero stage for nearly all local arts organizations, with special focus on groups featuring youth performers or serving youth audiences. Caf recipients include opera santa barbara, state street ballet, sb youth symphony, flamenco arts festival, community arts music association, music academy of the west and many more.our youth & community outreach programs send professional jazz music educators into locals schools to provide hands-on music instruction to more than 300 students, as well as inviting 2000+ of students and low-income seniors into the theatre each year to experience music, dance and magic performances as audience members.the lobero live series brings world-class artists to santa barbara audiences, with an emphasis on jazz, americana and other roots music genres. With more than 30 events per year, this program serves more than 15,000 patrons in a venue that is both intimate and welcoming.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 47
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76%; rating input score 76
- Program expense ratio: 76.4%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.31; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16.8%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76% of revenue deployed · 76.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $232K · 26 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.