Sherman Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952672431
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Newport Beach, CA, USA
Phone
9496421626
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,408,928
Expenses
$3,729,710
Assets
$27,547,436
Liabilities
$178,325

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GARY PICKETT (President)
  • WILLIAM B AVERY (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • GARY PICKETT (President): $998,073 total reported compensation
  • A SCOTT LAFLEUR (EXEC DIR-SL&G): $317,041 total reported compensation
  • KYLE CHEESBOROUGH (GARDEN DIRECTOR): $169,979 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of sherman foundation is the operation of sherman library & gardens located in corona del mar, ca. The mission of sherman library & gardens is to provide the public an oasis of inspiration, education and appreciation of regional history, horticulture and the arts. Sherman gardens features an extensive botanical collection that spans the globe, ranging from plant life of the desert to exotic vegetation of tropical climes. Sherman library is a historical research library specializing in the history of the pacific southwest, as well as home to a collection of California impressionist art.

What it reported doing in 2023

Sherman gardens had 97,191 visitors, an increase of 8% over the prior year. This year, the sherman gardens volunteer association worked 9,915 hours and docents worked 3,403 hours. Sherman gardens reinstituted educational tours of the botanical gardens for school children in grades 3 through 5 bused in from all parts of orange county, ca. Students from forty three elementary schools (1,620 students) took part in our field trip program. Lesson plans were developed for the day prior to the tour and for the day after the tour. Transportation costs were funded by sherman gardens through donations.sherman library partnered with a local art museum for an exhibit of sherman library & garden's art collection. Three separate art exhibits were conducted at sherman library that focused on the history of southern California. Historical researchers utilized 2,560 records and artifacts from sherman library and our photo database had over 23,040 views.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 72% 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 a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.6%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 25th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th 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: 55.6%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.39; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.9%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 40.2% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49.6% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $998K · 13 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.