Washington State Fair Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261250496
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-N 2007
Location
Puyallup, WA, USA
Phone
2538411771
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development - Agricultural

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$853,492
Expenses
$637,515
Assets
$4,790,020
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JERRY LARSON (DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT)
  • JEFF MCVICKER (DIRECTOR, VICE-PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RENEE MCCLAIN (DIRECTOR, SECRETARY): $253,268 total reported compensation
  • KENT HOJEM (FORMER DIRECTOR, SECRETARY): $210,113 total reported compensation
  • BILLY YUN (FORMER DIRECTOR, TREASURER): $177,400 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The misson of the Washington state fair foundation is to financially support the scholarship and educational programs of the Washington state fair and to help preserve and improve the Washington state fair for future generations.

What it reported doing in 2023

Blue ribbon scholarship program - the Washington state fair foundation is pleased to present over $170,000 in scholarship opportunities to students residing in Washington state for the fiscal year ending november 30, 2024. Awards were paid to the college, universities and vocational technical schools the awardees attended. The blue ribbon scholarship program is made possible by the generosity of the foundation's donors. Since the inception of the program, over $1,900,000 in awards have been distributed to students across Washington state pursuing higher education. In addition to the endowed scholarships set up by donor families, the program is primarily supported by an annual round up auction that takes place each august

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 88% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.8%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 75.3%; rating input score 75
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: 25.3%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.51; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.8% of revenue deployed · 75.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 20 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $480K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $253K · 23 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 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.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.