Pretend City the Childrens Museum of Orange County
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Provides enriching educational programs and activities for young children. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $5.0M in revenue, $4.4M in expenses, and $16.1M in net assets.Pt I
Summary of the Filing
Where the work happens
For 2024, 201,997 children and adults visited Pretend City Children's Museum. That number included 6,456 children and chaperones experiencing Pretend City via 120 subsidized school or group field trips and 1,893 students and chaperones coming via 32 fully funded scholarships field trips.
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Identity & Classification
Governance & Policies
Officers, Directors & Key Employees
Ellen Pais’s $195K as Executive Director is at the 82nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3916 $1–10M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellen Pais | $195,098 | $173,678 | $175,000 | $41,170 | — | — |
| Sue Harrison | $182,962 | $161,458 | $153,633 | $144,798 | $142,143 | — |
| Sandra Bolton | — | — | — | — | — | $167,441 |
| Leslie Perovich | — | — | — | $151,939 | $106,996 | — |
| Sue Harrison | — | — | — | — | — | $144,025 |
| Maria Tinajero-Dowdle | $133,763 | $122,937 | $79,955 | — | — | — |
| Barbara Powers | $132,249 | $102,743 | — | — | — | — |
| Leslie Perovich | — | — | — | — | — | $123,800 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Statement of Revenue
Statement of Functional Expenses
Balance Sheet
Financial Metrics
Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.
| Metric | This org | Peer median | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program ratio | 67% | — | — |
| Overhead ratio | 12% | — | — |
| Fundraising cost ratio | 46% | — | — |
| Revenue growth | -40% | — | — |
| Investment management fee ratio | 0% | — | — |
| Legal fee ratio | 0% | — | — |
| Accounting fee ratio | 1% | — | — |
| Fundraising fee ratio | 0% | — | — |
Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.
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Filings & Schedule Manifest
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Sources
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