San Luis Obispo Downtown Association
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 261160630
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8055410286
- Rating
- 60
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,535,771
- Expenses
- $1,380,085
- Assets
- $485,440
- Liabilities
- $66,601
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STEPHEN PATRICK (President)
- JAMES MENNO (Vice President)
- DONNA LEWIS (Past President)
- LEBREN HARRIS (CEO)
People named in this filing
- STEPHEN PATRICK (President)
- JAMES MENNO (Vice President)
- DONNA LEWIS (Past President)
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 promote and pursue the goals and interests of business owners and merchants located within the downtown business improvement district boundaries.
What it reported doing in 2024
Concerts in the plaza
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 83% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- 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 and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 34
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 48
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 33.5%; rating input score 33
- Program expense ratio: 31.9%; rating input score 32
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 10.1%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 33.5% of revenue deployed · 31.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 14 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 32/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Independent members within voting members did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.