A-WOL Dance Collective

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203326373
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032019798
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$557,804
Expenses
$589,458
Assets
$128,973
Liabilities
$79,752

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kayla Brons (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Bethany Foran (Board Treasurer & Exec Director): $25,412 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

A-WOL Dance Collective Mission is to facilitate creative expression in dance by providing instruction to the public and access to resources, workshops and educational programs for the writing, preparation and creation of dance performances.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, A-WOL continued to grow as a dynamic and inclusive space for aerial arts. Our adult recreational aerial program saw record participation since 2021. The energy and diversity in our classes continue to enrich the community and bring fresh enthusiasm to our studio. Our student showcase once again highlighted the aerial accomplishments of our recreational students. We also made our Circus Soiree part of our annual season with two shows per year that allow local aerial professionals to perform their works in front of an audience. It has excellent participation from both the professionals and audience that it draws. Our professional training programs, FlyCo and Aeros, remained a strong foundation of A-WOLs mission, though numbers have seen a slight decline. Students in both tracks pushed themselves artistically, developing new work, collaborating with peers, and performing with growing confidence and originality. These programs not only cultivate the next generation of aerial artists but also elevate the quality and creativity of our performances. Performances continued to be a central part of our identity. Our signature show, Art in the Dark, once again captivated audiences, and we continued the tradition of offering a family-friendly matinee to welcome younger viewers into the world of aerial dance. Behind the scenes, we focused on sustainability and growth. A-WOL hired a marketing consultant at the end of 2025 to find new ways to bring audience and class members into the studio.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 87% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 76%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.62; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.7% of revenue deployed · 76% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $448K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $25K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.