Chattanooga Theatre Centre Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
620273170
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Chattanooga, TN, USA
Phone
4232678534
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,578,385
Expenses
$1,846,080
Assets
$2,936,029
Liabilities
$426,536

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAFREDERICK THIRKILL (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • DARLENE BABBS COLE (PRESIDENT)
  • JUAN MORENO (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RODNEY VAN VALKENBURG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • RODNEY VAN VALKENBURG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $84,509 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Founded in 1923, the chattanooga theatre centre is a nonprofit community theatre celebrating its 102nd season of bringing quality theatre productions, classes, and workshops to the citizens of chattanooga and surrounding areas. The mission of the chattanooga theatre centre is to enrich the cultural, intellectual, and emotional development of people of all ages by providing high quality theatrical experiences and creating opportunities to engage in them.

What it reported doing in 2024

One of the largest arts organizations in chattanooga, one of the longest running theatres in the southeast, and one of the largest community theatres in the country, the chattanooga theatre centre was founded in 1923 on the belief that the arts are a shared experience that delights, inspires, moves, and educates.through theatrical productions presented by and for chattanoogans of all ages, along with robust drama classes and programs, the chattanooga theatre centre strives to play a significant role in making chattanooga a great place to live, work, and play.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 74% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.59; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $85K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.