The Summer Solstice Celebration Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770004190
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Phone
8059653396
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$391,503
Expenses
$376,939
Assets
$64,911
Liabilities
$631

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JUSTIN GUNN (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • PENNY LITTLE (Executive Dir.): $60,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Bringing the community together through the arts

What it reported doing in 2025

The arts workshop provides a space, materials and artists in residence to facilitate the creation of costumes and floats for the annual parade.the summer solstice parade is a unique event. The floats are all pushed by people, nothing motorized, and the materials used in the creation of the floats are recycled materials. There is no advertising of any kind allowed in the parade. It is purely an expression of art and community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 70% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 58
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 3.7%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.9%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.7% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $292K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2011 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: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.