San Diego Bonsai Club

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237051020
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2021
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
6192898801
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural History, Natural Science Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$53,240
Expenses
$63,509
Assets
$140,370
Liabilities
$1,780

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • John Holloway (President)
  • Susan Ronan (Past President)

People named in this filing

  • John Holloway (President)
  • Matt Jillson (1st VP)
  • Bob Hale (Education VP)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide members with a forum to exchange information, learn, teach and promote the art of bonsai thru lectures, classes, workshops, demrations and field trips.

What it reported doing in 2025

To provide maintenance to SD Zoo Safari Park bonsai pavillion maintenance, trees and wire for bonsai classes. To maintain Balboa Park Japanese Friendship garden bonsai display. Provide membership badges, website, spring & fall show food and table items.

Operating model

Revenue model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filed totals do not add up and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 100
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -19.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.21; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $82K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 8 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part III program expenses within total did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.