Carpe Diem Arts

Legal name: Carpe Diem Arts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814336754
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Silver Spring, MD, USA
Phone
240-203-8904
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$364,301
Expenses
$327,241
Assets
$122,059
Liabilities
$71,040

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Peggy Sue Busy Graham (Executive Director (thru 8/3/25))
  • Donna King (Executive Director (from 8/4/25))

Highest reported compensation

  • Peggy Sue Busy Graham (Executive Director (thru 8/3/25)): $50,000 total reported compensation
  • Diane Dowling (Chief Financial Officer): $39,587 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Carpe Diem Arts brings the arts to life by providing accessible, high-quality arts education and cultural experiences that unite, energize, and inspire individuals and communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Daily Antidote of Song is a free, virtual program that brings people together for one song every day-over 2,000 consecutive days of music! Featuring 500+ artists, including Grammy & Juno winners, it offers songs of joy, hope, and social justice. Initially engaging those who were feeling lonely and isolated due to the pandemic, the program lifts the spirits of anyone who is feeling low by engaging them in song, imbuing them with "vitamin H for Harmony" as one artist said, and providing a means for them to connect with others. Tune in live at noon ET on Zoom (carpediemarts.org/daily-antidote-of-song) or watch past sessions on YouTube (youtube.com/@DailyAntidoteofSong). Presented by Carpe Diem Arts.

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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.8%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 65.4%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $29.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 10.2%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.5% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 12 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 4 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 58.8% of revenue deployed · 65.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $214K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $50K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.