Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232952488
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2159256101
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,796,096
Expenses
$13,076,885
Assets
$15,707,541
Liabilities
$8,782,799

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHRYN OTT LOVELL (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHRYN OTT LOVELL (PRESIDENT & CEO): $385,681 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINE KEATES (VP & GM): $188,756 total reported compensation
  • BETH COIMBRA (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $183,292 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 philadelphia visitor center corporation (pvcc) is to enhance the experience of visitors to philadelphia by providing exceptional customer service and access to all that the city has to offer. Pvcc will inspire visitors to create lasting memories through exploring the city and region, and to share their experiences with others. We envision pvcc as a nationally recognized leader in visitor service excellence and innovation.

What it reported doing in 2024

In fiscal year 2025, the philadelphia visitor center corporation (pvcc) launched the phambassador program, with an ambitious goal of recruiting 10,000 phambassadors by the end of 2026 - to date over 6,000 passionate phambassadors have joined the movement. Pvcc has also taken on leadership of phl250 which is now a program within our organization. The program is tasked with uplifting and celebrating philadelphia neighborhoods, cultures, and small businesses through a coordinated series of economic and cultural investments. Partnering with visit philly and more than 32 philadelphia arts organizations, pvcc opened a tkts counter in the philadelphia visitor center offering discounted, same-day/next-day tickets for live performances. Pvcc continues to steward and lead the historic district partners, collaborating on major district wide events such as "united for independence"halloween in the historic district". This year, pvcc also hosted the organization's second annual philly opener event, the event surpassed our fundraising goals. Lastly, pvcc is proud to be leading the effort to preserve and relaunch two of philadelphia's most cherished holiday traditions - the wanamaker light show and dickens christmas village - for the 2025 holiday season

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 91% 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. Assets have declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.7%; rating input score 91; 21st 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 11.6%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.2; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.3% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $386K · 25 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $206K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 33 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 61 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 58 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: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
  • 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: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.