Atlantic Theater Company

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133218253
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2126915919
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,102,628
Expenses
$12,013,283
Assets
$30,277,487
Liabilities
$16,679,262

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Jeffory Lawson (Managing Director): $482,590 total reported compensation
  • NEIL PEPE (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $443,546 total reported compensation
  • Mary McCann (DIRECTOR/SCHOOL EXEC DIR.): $433,893 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

At Atlantic, our aim is singular: to empower simple and honest storytelling that fosters greater understanding of our shared world. Across our work, we are a family of artists dedicated to exploring essential truths onstage, be it a show at Atlantic Theater Company or a class at Atlantic Acting School. As a producer, presenter, and educator of theater, we are driven by the belief that theater can challenge and transform our ways of thinking and urge us to reflect on our role in society. We are committed to uncovering and celebrating the stories of our varied human existence - from our Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning productions to our impactful arts education programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Since our inception, atlantic has been training young people in the theater at atlantic acting school, where we equip our students with the physical, emotional, and analytical tools of acting to discover their truths and prepare them for success beyond our doors. Each year, we offer an accredited conservatory program, a bfa program operated through New York university, and afterschool and summer programs for children and teenagers from across the city. We're also serving over 3,500 nyc public school students through various arts education programs. In staging success, atlantic partners with two public high schools to offer in-class cross-curricular theater lessons. Simultaneously, atlantic's discover success is a matinee program providing students from 30 nyc schools with tickets to atlantic productions, pre-show classroom visits with teaching artists, study guides, and post-show discussions with the play's cast. Students receive tickets to atlantic productions. We also serve neurodiverse children and young adults with relaxed performances through access success.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 62% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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

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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.8%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th 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: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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: 96%; rating input score 96; 30th 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: 8.3%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.52; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.55; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.8% of revenue deployed · 87.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $10.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $483K · 29 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.