5Th Avenue Theatre Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911087612
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2066251418
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,818,229
Expenses
$2,181,047
Assets
$17,648,111
Liabilities
$18,156,885

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARISA BEHNKE (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • KENNY ALHADEFF (CHAIR)
  • MARISA BEHNKE (PRESIDENT)
  • TOM HANDLEY (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To nurture, advance, and celebrate all aspects of the great art form: the musical.

What it reported doing in 2024

The 5th avenue theatre's mission is to nurture, advance, and celebrate all aspects of the great art form: the musical. The 5th reaches 180,000 people through programs at its downtown seattle venue and in communities across the state. We produce a mainstage season, with a mix of locally created and produced shows and we also host national tours. There are 150+ performances on our stage each year where 500+ volunteers help greet and usher. One of the region's largest arts employers, we employ 700+ people a year. Our education programs reach k-12 grades and have historically served 30,000-75,000 youth, educators, and community members. Each season, we provide free tickets to local non-profits, discounted tickets for patrons, and accessibility services for 5,000+ patrons. The 5th has produced 20 new musicals; nine went to broadway.during fy25, the 5th avenue theatre entered a partnership with seattle theatre group in which stg will manage the theater building while the 5th continues producing its own shows independently. This move is designed to strengthen financial stability; support locally produced musical theater and make fuller use of the historic venue throughout the year. The arrangement also aims to bring more events and visitors to the downtown area allowing stg and the 5th to activate the space separately and as co-presenting partners, strengthening the 5th avenue's status as a non-profit organization.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 69% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.4%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 77.9%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th 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: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.6%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.09; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.03; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.4% of revenue deployed · 77.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 26 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 28 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.