Merlin's Magic Wand Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
460809190
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Carlsbad, CA, USA
Phone
7607860059
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$398,879
Expenses
$357,448
Assets
$1,032,812
Liabilities
$381,410

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Alyson Barber (Foundation Manager): $71,322 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 Organization's purpose is to support children facing challenges of serious illness, disability, or adversity. The Organization believes that every child deserves to laugh, enjoy, and cherish memorable experiences and the Organization's mission is to enable them to access the magic of Merlin Entertainments.

What it reported doing in 2024

Magical Days Out provided 58,963 tickets valued at $2,204,963 to children facing the challenges of serious illness, disability or adversity, their families, and caretakers. Families have a chance to create long-lasting memories and take valuable time out from their stressful daily routine by enjoying a day out at a Merlin Entertainments attraction.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 37
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.3%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 65%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.4%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.89; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -16.7% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58.3% of revenue deployed · 65% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $232K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $71K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.