The 418 Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770335796
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Phone
4086022940
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,682,948
Expenses
$698,204
Assets
$2,271,333
Liabilities
$10,025

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SONJA BRUNNER (PRESIDENT)
  • LAURA BISHOP (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURA BISHOP (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $102,592 total reported compensation
  • GREGORY SPEED (MEMBER): $750 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Supporting emerging artists and communities to create a world with more belonging

What it reported doing in 2024

Our fiscal sponsorship program created over $200,000 in financial project produced 12 original evenings of theater, providing artistic development and paying a creative team of 8 working artists. We paid over 130 emerging artists, fueling the heart of the santa cruz arts scene. We kept the arts accessible by offering a multitude of free/by donation programming, thus removing barriers to participation. We upgraded our spaces, improving our theater lights, sound systems to improve the quality of our productions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 71% for direct work, and 29% for grants.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 62
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 30.3%; rating input score 30
  • Program expense ratio: 72.3%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 92.1%; rating input score 92; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 58.5%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.25; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.7% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 30.3% of revenue deployed · 72.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $505K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $103K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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 30/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.