Santa Monica Travel & Tourism
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 953799701
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3103196263
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $10,049,781
- Expenses
- $10,153,655
- Assets
- $5,068,828
- Liabilities
- $2,506,374
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
27 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Misti Kerns (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Misti Kerns (CEO): $437,467 total reported compensation
- EVAN EDWARDS (COO): $268,421 total reported compensation
- RACHEL LOZANO (CPO): $255,597 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 organization is the city of santa monica's official promotion and tourism bureau. It is organized to promote the common good and social welfare of the people of santa monica through improvement of tourism and trade in the city of santa monica and the preservation and improvement of economic conditions for all people in santa monica, thereby lessening the burdens on city government. The organization's mission is to increase visitor expenditures and tourism revenues through promotion of the area as a travel destination.
What it reported doing in 2024
Visitor marketing - the bureau aims to increase tourism in the city of santa monica through various means including:(1) providing information through promotional materials such as printed visitor's guides and the city's official website (www.santamonica.com).(2) representing the city of santa monica in travel tradeshows in other cities, both domestic and international.(3) developing relationships with those in the travel industry to promote the city of santa monica as a travel destination.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 21
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.2%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 83.9%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.49; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.5%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.2% of revenue deployed · 83.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $8.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $437K · 27 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.1M reported
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.