ArtsQuest

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232280560
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Bethlehem, PA, USA
Phone
6103321300
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$34,178,051
Expenses
$25,927,935
Assets
$57,411,401
Liabilities
$13,217,798

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHERINE E HILGERT (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • CURT W MOSEL (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RAYMOND NEEB (SR VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERA)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHERINE E HILGERT (PRESIDENT & CEO): $387,896 total reported compensation
  • CURT W MOSEL (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT): $198,912 total reported compensation
  • PATRICK BROGAN (CHIEF PROGRAMMING OFFICER): $176,011 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

ArtsQuest is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to providing access to the arts, culture and educational experiences for all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Banana factory: artsquest established the banana factory arts & education center in january 1998. Today, the banana factory provides over 300 visual arts and education classes and camps to serve the community including photography, ceramics, glass-blowing, painting, drawing, jewelry, mixed media, and sculpture. Through the support of donors and sponsors, artsquest offers scholarships to any adult or child in financial need. The arts center offers three free galleries and more than 25 studios to regional visual artists at subsidized rental rates in order to encourage artist development and engagement. Subsidized space is also made available to the Pennsylvania youth theatre and the volunteer center of the lehigh valley. The banana factory also houses several artsquest offices critical to administering the operations of this center and the organization as a whole.

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 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.7%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 24.1%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.21; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 66.7% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $22.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $388K · 22 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • 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 38/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.