Sonoma Speaker Series

What it reported doing in 2024

We are pleased to say that The Sonoma Speaker Series has hit its stride! We have been selling out every event, and usually have a waiting list. Our e-blasts now go out to approximately 5,000 people, and the guests come from Sonoma, Marin, and Napa counties.We continue to develop our Board of Directors, and added three new members in 2024. One of those is Dr. David McCuan, Chair of the Political Science Department at Sonoma State University. David is now taking on the role of on-stage interviewer for some of our more political speakers. In addition to McCuan, we also added Ken Wayne. Ken spent the last 32 years at KTVU and KRON 4 TV, working his way up to becoming the main anchor for the evening news. He's interviewed countless political leaders, entertainers, and other news makers, and now conducts interviews for our organization. And lastly, Liz Jenks has joined our Board. Liz built a thriving business, leading a team of 1,000 independent consultants who generated over $4 million in product sales annually. She has also conducted speaking engagements at women's conferences educating women on conscious consumerism.All of our 2024 speakers were top-notch. We started with Anthony Ray Hinton, who survived 30 years on Alabama's death row for a crime he didn't commit, then hosted Marie Yovanovitch, former US Ambassador to Ukraine. In April, NFL player Fred Warner took the stage, captain of our beloved San Francisco 49ers. He was followed by Andrew Yang, founder of the Forward Party, who ran for President of the United States in 2020. Dr. Adam Gazzaley taught us how the brain works and how to avoid getting distracted. Then Carl Bernstein, co-author of All the President's Men, shared how he and Bob Woodward broke the Watergate story in the Washington Post, leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. We rounded out the year with Ana Homayoun, author, academic advisor, and career development expert specializing in teens and tweens.Our audiences love the events, our volunteers are well-trained and happy in their jobs, our board members are engaged, and each play a pivotal role in the program's success...and as a Speaker Series, we are trending upward as we continue to attract more well-known and accomplished speakers!

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 47.1%; rating input score 47
• Program expense ratio: 96.3%; rating input score 96
• 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: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
  • 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: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 51.9%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.71; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 54.5% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 30.9% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings