The Arts Council of Kern
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 953098602
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bakersfield, CA, USA
- Phone
- 6613249000
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts Council/Agency
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,743,772
- Expenses
- $2,441,676
- Assets
- $412,310
- Liabilities
- $65,241
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JASMINE LOBASSO (PRESIDENT)
- TONY MARTINEZ (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JEANETTE RICHARDSON (EXECUTIVE DIR.): $142,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of the arts council of kern is to provide support and promote arts access, advocacy, and education for all kern county residents and vistors. We are a 501(c)(3) non profit organization and are the designated local arts agency for kern county, serving our mission in partnership with the California arts council, the county of kern, and local agencies.
What it reported doing in 2024
Arts education - we provide art assisted education for young people using young audiences arts for learning curriculum and artists in residence; arts outreach - we further our mission fulfilling arts needs in kern county through many outreach progams and support of the creative economy.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 14
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 74.6%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -40%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 25.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $142K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.