Responsible Hospitality Institute Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 042800910
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2013
- Location
- Scotts Valley, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8314693396
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alcohol, Drug and Substance Abuse, Dependency Prevention and Treatment
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $221,165
- Expenses
- $232,739
- Assets
- $14,421
- Liabilities
- $154,014
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JAMES E PETERS (President)
Highest reported compensation
- JAMES E PETERS (President): $32,462 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Public education
What it reported doing in 2025
The Responsible Hospitality Institute is in a transition period as the economy of cities is evolving, providing fewer options. The Sociable City Assessment process which has been a primary source of revenue, and opportunities ended. RHI staff involved in those projects found other employment. The annual events continued in 2025 and a new project began as a state demonstration in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, transferring the RHI city organizing process to an educational and research project. 2025 Sociable City Events The Responsible Hospitality Institute (RHI) held it 2025 Sociable City Academy and Summit in Sacramento, California. Programohttps://sociablecity.info/summit/history/2025.pdfo92 SpeakersoSix General SessionsoTwenty Educational WorkshopsAttendeeso225 Individuals Attendedo130 Organizations RepresentedAttendees from: o49 Citieso25 States and Provinceso5 CountriesTwo State Demonstration ProjectThe Responsible Hospitality Institute (RHI) received an award from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA) to improve state-local collaboration through the lens of sociability and the social economy. The initiative will showcase how shared learning can enhance governance, economic vitality, and public safety in nighttime social districts where people gather to shop, dine, drink, listen to music, and dance. Pennsylvania and North Carolina are pilot states for this project. Drawing on its work in more than 80 North American cities and decades of convening thought leaders through annual events, the Responsible Hospitality Institute (RHI) has identified a significant gap: the absence of structured dialog and collaborative planning between state and local governments. To address this, RHI proposes a replicable model rooted in sociable city planning to bridge this divide and support sustainable urban development.Through a series of events and targeted information gathering, this initiative will explore and document: State-to-state comparisons of policies, resources, and advocacy efforts that support a vibrant and sustainable daytime and nighttime social economy.City-to-city comparisons within and across states to identify trends, challenges, and effective strategies for planning, managing, and policing social districtsareas where people gather to shop, dine, drink, enjoy live music, and dance.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 72% 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
STRONG - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 16
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.4%; rating input score 93
- Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: -5.2%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.06; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 10.68; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.9%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 93.4% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $207K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $32K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.