Montecito Firefighters Charitable Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204817396
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Phone
8059697762
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$83,565
Expenses
$58,140
Assets
$595,144
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHARLES SPENCER (PRESIDENT)
  • LOREN BASS (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • CHARLES SPENCER (PRESIDENT)
  • LOREN BASS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DANIEL ARNOLD (TREASURER)

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

To provide relief to those facing hardship based upon financial or other need, with the primary focus on first responders and their families and all children.

What it reported doing in 2024

The montecito firefighter's charitable foundation supports members of the community and members of our fire family. Throughout the years we have been privileged to donate to those in need and look forward to continuing that tradition well into the future. In the years since our inception, it has been our honor to assist individuals in a wide variety of situations including emergency medical expenses, supporting education, assisting with funeral costs, burn victims, high tech wheelchairs. It is important to us not to limit the manner in which we help but rather to be led forward by the needs that we encounter. For the year ended december 31, 2024, we provided eight (8) grants to organizations and individuals in support of these efforts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.9%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 30.4%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.24; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.5% per year; rating input score 0; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.9% of revenue deployed · 92.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $54K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.