Sca Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831937937
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Phone
8054070439
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Financial Counseling

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$61,201
Expenses
$53,856
Assets
$42,811
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

People named in this filing

  • LISA NELSON (CO-CHAIR AND SECRETARY)
  • TOM WASHING (CO-CHAIR)
  • MICHELLE MARTINICH (TREASURER)

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 foster investment in and collaboration with local companies and organizations working to enhance the well-being of people and the planet.

What it reported doing in 2025

The sca foundation hosted the sb impact investing summit - a conference focused on impact investing has been held in santa barbara with the goal of clearing away the mystery around impact investing which we define as investments that generate positive social and environmental impacts while delivering strong financial returns.to fully grasp the amazing potential and opportunities represented by impactful companies, conference attendees meet the founders and leaders of more than a dozen local companies using breakthrough technologies to improve the well-being of people and the planet.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. 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: 26
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 24.9%; rating input score 25
  • Program expense ratio: 28.3%; rating input score 28

Transparency & Controls

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

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.79; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -10% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 24.9% of revenue deployed · 28.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 25/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.