Tales of the Cocktail Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841701381
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Metairie, LA, USA
Phone
5049480511
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,851,123
Expenses
$4,683,868
Assets
$531,495
Liabilities
$2,854,595

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • EILEEN WAYNER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

People named in this filing

  • GARY N SOLOMON SR (Treasurer)
  • GARY N SOLOMON JR (CO-CHAIR)
  • NEAL BODENHEIMER (CO-CHAIR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Tales of the cocktail foundation is a non-profit organization that educates, advances, and supports the global hospitality industry and creates lasting impact in host communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Tales of the Cocktail: Tales of the Cocktail is equal parts cocktail conference and family reunion, featuring a schedule of educational seminars, tastings, competitions, and networking events representing the latest the global drinks industry has to offer. Supported by the Education Committee and Cocktail Apprentice Program (recruiting and training and executing thousands of drinks for the conference), this annual event provides education, training and resources (including mental health and wellness activations through Beyond the Bar) to the drinks community.Singapore X Tales: In July 2022, Tales of the Cocktail Foundation announced a partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board to highlight the culture and talent within the island nation. Featuring two activations at Tales of the Cocktail in 2022, Singapore bars and talent were integrated across multiple Foundation programs in 2023 including the announcement of the Spirited Awards nomination period and Regional Honorees, a digital marketing campaign, and a residency at Tales of the Cocktail 2023.Education: Guided by the Education Committee, the Foundation provides world class education through seminars. Moderators and panelists are convened at Tales of the Cocktail to present ideas, trends, best practices to the global drinks industry.Grants: Through the Foundations grant-making program, the Foundation supports emerging and existing programs and organizations that demonstrate a vision, determination, and ability to make meaningful change in the global drinks industry across a spectrum of diverse topics. Grants are evaluated and selected by the Philanthropy and Development Committee.Policy: The Foundation continued its work researching and advocating for better support of U.S. based hospitality workers within the drinks industry, with supporting funds from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.Partnership Programs: The Foundation partners with brands to provide brand awareness, support campaigns and/or competitions that are aligned with the Foundations mission and offer opportunities to the global drinks industry.Cocktail Apprentice Program: The Cocktail Apprentice Program is an exclusive mentorship program for up-and-coming bartenders to learn alongside some of the biggest names in the business during five days of Tales of the Cocktail. Since 2008, nearly 500 apprentices have gained extensive experience working and managing large-scale, high-volume events while providing an invaluable service to Tales of the Cocktail Foundation and the industry as a whole. The Foundation continues to support the growing fraternity of past apprentices by offering exclusive opportunities for scholarships and financial aid to further support their growth within the industry.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 91% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 93.9%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.6%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.11; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 5.37; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 93.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 0/100.