Solano Avenue Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942803812
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5105275358
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$171,485
Expenses
$154,226
Assets
$176,624
Liabilities
$261,767

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON BELLEVUE (President)
  • TOD ABBOTT (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALLEN CAIN (Executive Dir.): $96,340 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The solano avenue association is dedicated to promoting and improving the solano avenue business district and to building community spirit and identity through events, marketing, and aesthetic enhancement. Founded in 1974, we are a non-profit organization comprised of professionals, restaurateurs, retailers, organizations, and individuals located within one block of solano avenue in albany or berkeley, and san pablo avenue in albany.

What it reported doing in 2025

Hosted events to promote the businesses in the membership association. The largest event is the solano stroll with attendance at approx 100,000. This event provides exposure and promotion to over 400 business.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 78% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.1%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.15; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.48; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 62.5%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75% of revenue deployed · 82.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.