Wide Open Walls

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
825167631
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9168368772
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$352,334
Expenses
$472,480
Assets
$39,956
Liabilities
$32,038

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID SOBON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID SOBON (PRESIDENT): $72,000 total reported compensation
  • MARGARET OWENS (TREASURER): $45,000 total reported compensation
  • PATRICK HARBISON (BOARD MEMBER): $6,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To create beautiful and interesting spaces for the region’s communities to enjoy through public art.

What it reported doing in 2023

In 2023 wide open walls collaborated with over 40 artists with an emphasis on school campuses. The festival celebrates the diversity of street art, with the transformation of walls in schools and neighborhoods throughout the downtown area and the sacramento region. The public was able to engage with the artists through gallery openings, art tours, fundraisers, and the opportunity to watch artists as they create these large-scale works of art.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 44
  • Sustainability: 8
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 11
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -34.1%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.08; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.8; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.3% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.2% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $355K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2018 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.