Adefua Cultural Education Workshop

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911641230
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2067226602
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$363,148
Expenses
$335,974
Assets
$41,007
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Afua Kouyate' (Executive Director)
  • Carol R Williams (President)
  • Roger Evans (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Afua Kouyate' (Executive Director): $143,678 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Adefua Cultural Education Workshop (A.C.E.W) WHO WE ARE (A.C.E.W), is a non-profit Organization that is central to youth and families within and surrounding Seattle communities. Providing year-round various interactive activities that engage, serves and have available West African experiences, both academically and socially to all generations. ADEFUA Vision Statement: Our vision is to enhance, maintain and sustain an African Arts Cultural Center that promotes jobs, economic development and arts education which influences healthy living and an intergenerational legacy. ADEFUA Mission: Our mission is create, expand and offer options for youth to enhance growth, personal development, and academic success through the study of African culture, music and dance.

What it reported doing in 2025

The ACAC will be a state-of-the-art cultural facility dedicated to African history, dance, music, and the arts, offering: Art Gallery & Exhibit Spaces showcasing African and African American art and cultural artifacts. Indoor & Outdoor Performance Spaces for dance, music, and storytelling. Classrooms & Workshop Studios for cultural education, drumming, and dance. Artist Residency & Studio Spaces to nurture creative expression. Commercial Kitchen & Café for culinary experiences and community gatherings. ADEFUA Administrative Offices to coordinate cultural programs and events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 32
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 22.7%; rating input score 23
  • Program expense ratio: 24.5%; rating input score 25
  • Fundraising efficiency: $641.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 10th 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.5%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.12; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 33.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.5% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 22.7% of revenue deployed · 24.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $82K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $144K · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $144K reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 23/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.