Ventura Botanical Gardens Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208416864
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2008
Location
Ventura, CA, USA
Phone
8057666950
Rating
55
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Garden Club, Horticultural Program

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,656,488
Expenses
$1,564,033
Assets
$14,354,637
Liabilities
$144,857

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEVIN CLERICI (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSEPH CAHILL (EXECUTIVE DI): $152,251 total reported compensation
  • BARBARA BROWN (DIRECTOR): $18,000 total reported compensation
  • TRACY LONG (SECRETARY): $13,049 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To create and maintain public gardens for the preservation, education, cultural contribution, and enhancement of the entire ventura coastal community.

What it reported doing in 2025

We continued development of existing pathways, including viewpoint construction, and general planting to expand the gardens.

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

MIXED - 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 29
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 13.1%; rating input score 13
  • Program expense ratio: 53.6%; rating input score 54
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 78.6%; rating input score 79; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 81.9%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.18; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 13.1% of revenue deployed · 53.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 14 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $838K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $152K · 14 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 13/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.