Valley of the Sun Bowl Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860902767
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Phone
4803500900
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,934,124
Expenses
$4,502,557
Assets
$925,902
Liabilities
$15,316,672

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

Leadership & pay

39 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIK MOSES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIK MOSES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO): $761,430 total reported compensation
  • HOPE M SHARETT (CHIEF LEGAL & STRATEGY OFFICER): $281,479 total reported compensation
  • KRISTINA CHUMPOL (CHIEF OF STAFF/VP OF COMM. INV): $218,887 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Valley of the sun bowl foundation is committed to fostering a culture of community involvement and giving through the annual rate bowl and related events. We serve as welcoming hosts, create lifelong memories, promote Arizona, and enable meaningful contributions to society.

What it reported doing in 2024

The valley of the sun bowl foundation's mission is to be a world-class community organization dedicated to providing a premier college football bowl experience and related game day events that serve as economic drivers for Arizona and provide charitable resources for our community. Our vision is to be Arizona's leading organization in creating unforgettable experiences through world-class sporting events, unparalleled hospitality and life-changing community impact, focused on pillars of youth, sports and education. The valley of the sun bowl foundation annually stages the rate bowl, which matches teams from the big ten and the big 12 conferences (or mountain west if either conference cannot provide a team). The game is played at chase field in phoenix, Arizona. The 35th annual game was played on december 26, 2024. Rutgers defeated Kansas state 44-41 in front of almost 22,000 attendees. An estimated 500 volunteers contribute approximately 2,500 hours of their time as community service to help put on the bowl and related game day events.as a nonprofit organization, we believe in the importance of fostering a culture of community outreach and service. Over the past 15 years, it is estimated that the valley of the sun bowl and its surrounding events have contributed to generating over $3 billion in economic impact for Arizona and nearly $35 million in charitable giving through its corporate affiliate fiesta events, inc. To local organizations and educators, through programs like wishes for teachers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 89.7%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.6%; rating input score 97; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.7%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 16.54; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.9% of revenue deployed · 89.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 29 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $761K · 39 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $421K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 0/100.