Uptown Whittier Improvement Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
301013308
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Whittier, CA, USA
Phone
5626869165
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$367,576
Expenses
$642,053
Assets
$854,875
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David Gonzalez (Board President)
  • Virginia Ball (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • David Gonzalez (Board President)
  • Virginia Ball (Vice President)
  • Stephen Ortiz (Board Treasurer)

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 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Uptown Whittier Improvement Association (UWIA) was established on December 18, 2017. UWIA is a public benefit corporation whose primary function is to administer the Uptown Whittier Community Benefit District (CBD). UWIA's mission is to, within a defined district, fund solutions to safety, homelessness, and vacancy problems, improve cleanliness, improve certain streetscape aspects, enhance the brand/image of Uptown Whittier, manage events, create a strong social media presence, facilitate public relations for Uptown businesses, and provide parking services and other warranted activities.

What it reported doing in 2023

The District Identity program strengthens Uptown Whittier's brand and builds community engagement through targeted communications, marketing, and seasonal activations. In this reporting period, UWIA launched two seasonal campaigns, Santa's Village and an Easter Bunny Event, which featured immersive decor, photo opportunities, live activations, and family-friendly programming. These drew thousands of visitors and significantly boosted foot traffic in the district. UWIA also implemented a crisis communications plan in response to local disruptions, ensuring consistent, transparent messaging that protected the reputation of local businesses and the district as a whole. In addition, a local influencer campaign was executed to promote Uptown businesses via curated social media content, resulting in a reach of thousands of impressions. The long-term goal is to position Uptown Whittier as a vibrant, safe, and welcoming destination for residents, visitors, and investors.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% 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

STRONG - 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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -74.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $542K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $359K reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.