Center Theatre Group

Legal name: Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952466183
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Culver City, CA, US
Phone
213.972.7564
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$44,197,361
Expenses
$49,944,026
Assets
$78,310,189
Liabilities
$18,313,531

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

Leadership & pay

60 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMY FORBES (PRESIDENT)
  • WILLIAM LINDSAY (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/TREASURER)
  • MILES BENICKES (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • GAIL BERMAN-MASTERS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JANA BEZDEK (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MATT WALDEN (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MEGHAN PRESSMAN (CEO/MANAGING DIRECTOR): $593,427 total reported compensation
  • SNEHAL DESAI (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $524,177 total reported compensation
  • DOUGLAS BAKER (PRODUCTING DIRECTOR): $321,618 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Center Theatre Group puts theatre at the center of it all, and believes theatre is for everyone.

What it reported doing in 2024

Center theatre group's education & community partnerships (e&cp) work supports ctg's overall mission: serving the diverse audiences of los angeles by producing and presenting theatre of the highest caliber, by nurturing new artists, by attracting new audiences, and by developing youth outreach and arts education programs. Our ctg core values of centering los angeles; lifelong learning, inspiration, and human connection; and respect, compassion, social conscience, and aredi lead our way.e&cp specifically serves our mission by working collaboratively and with direct and frequent input from our los angeles communities; partnering with local organizations, theatremakers, and schools; providing resources and opportunities for local educators and students; and creating programs to equip and collaborate with the next generation of theatremakers. The e&cp team keeps justice, inclusion, and antiracism practices at the center of our work. For fy25, education & community partnerships engaged 7,583 students, 925 educators, and 5,421 additional participants through live programming, student matinees, workshops, readings, internships, career fairs, in-school residencies, ticketing initiatives, activations, leadership programs, and, in particular this year, our la wildfire relief response.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 64% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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.
  • 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.3%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 82.5%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.57; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 95.3% of revenue deployed · 82.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 51 of 53 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $41.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $593K · 60 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.6M reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.