Austin Shakespeare Festival Co Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742420367
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5124704505
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$416,314
Expenses
$430,824
Assets
$258,897
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sue Breland (President)
  • Leslie Martinich (Past President)
  • Marc Pouhe (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ann Ciccolella (Artistic Director): $69,000 total reported compensation
  • Alex Alford (Managing Director): $66,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Austin Shakespeare performs timeless stories that explore the human adventure and celebrate the power of words on stages and in schools in the heart of Texas.

What it reported doing in 2025

Outdoor Productions: For the 37th time the company presented Free Shakespeare in Zilker Park with a production of Julius Caesar. This was the first time the company performed the show in 25 years. Young Shakespeare presented its 18th season with Cymbeline, the seldom performed but extraordinary tragedy. Performed at The Curtain Theatre, Austin's replica of an Elizabethan theater, the production featured 13 teen performers in 7 public performances. This is a rare opportunity for students to rehearse and perform on the type of stage for which Shakespeare wrote his plays.

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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 75.2%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

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: 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.8% of revenue deployed · 75.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $324K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.