Arbutus Folk School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463046450
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Olympia, WA, USA
Phone
3603500187
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$460,522
Expenses
$467,172
Assets
$249,034
Liabilities
$83,959

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID PAUL (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • HILLARY TULLY (EXECUTIVE DI): $51,093 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of arbutus folk school is to enrich lives and build community through experiential learning in arts, craft, and culture. Over a thousand unique individuals took a class with us this year, and hundreds more attended our events. Over sixty artists led programs in music, woodworking, ceramics, dyeing, weaving, glass arts, and much more. At our craft classes, open studio hours, and music & cultural events, participants share that they feel empowered, fall in love, learn through doing, make friends, and find joy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Craft classes: arbutus folk school offers hands-on community craft classes for all ages across the olympia area. Subjects include ceramics, woodworking, fiber arts, glass arts, blacksmithing, and cultural arts such as iranian and senegalese music; vietnamese cuisine; tulalip, nisqually, and makah cedar bark weaving; and huichol beading in 2024. Most classes are designed for beginners, and student experience is documented through regular assessment. "you've opened up a whole world to me," a student shared after taking a wheelthrowing class. "i feel encouraged and enabled," shared another. This is why we are here creativity and community-building make our programs so much more than the stool or vase that participants make, or the songs they play.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -1.4%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.7% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $376K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $51K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.