Set Free Monterey Bay

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843346028
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Monterey, CA, USA
Phone
8313209555
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Protection Against Abuse

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$645,087
Expenses
$527,748
Assets
$244,900
Liabilities
$53,390

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ashely Chesney (Executive Director)
  • Jeanine Stanton (President)
  • Chanelle Simpson (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ashely Chesney (Executive Director): $67,267 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Set Free Monterey Bay aspires to be the guide that equips a child to evade human trafficking, the wisdom that guides community leaders toward successful human trafficking eradication, and the last stop on a survivors journey to healing.

What it reported doing in 2024

Set Free Monterey Bay (SFMB) made significant strides in fiscal year 20242025 toward its mission of combating human trafficking and supporting survivors. The organization provided housing, care, and crisis stabilization to 60 women, educated over 2,335 community members, and trained 1,261 youth through school programs to prevent exploitation. SFMB also equipped 110 law enforcement and fire personnel to recognize trafficking indicators and trained nearly 1,000 professionals, including social workers and healthcare workers. Volunteers received specialized instruction in trauma-informed care. The organization expanded its services with grants supporting wellness initiatives and mental health training, partnered with Equine Healing Collaborative, and achieved record fundraising success. Notable outcomes included survivors attaining sobriety milestones, educational and personal achievements, and transitions to safer housing, demonstrating meaningful, life-changing impacts

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 47
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47.4%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 58%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 18.2%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 37.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47.4% of revenue deployed · 58% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $306K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $67K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.