Circus Bella
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 813385535
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2016
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4154804239
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $881,405
- Expenses
- $839,083
- Assets
- $54,896
- Liabilities
- $215,108
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Abigail Munn (President)
- Eddie Scher (President)
Highest reported compensation
- Abigail Munn (President): $69,755 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Circus Bella's mission is to produce and present high-quality Circus Arts entertainment, accessible to all audiences.
What it reported doing in 2024
We are the San Francisco Bay Area's premiere one-ring circus, curated in the traditions of earlier eras with forward-thinking sensibilities and flair. Like the word Bella in our name, we celebrate the beauty of the circus art form and the beauty of what humans can do together. Audiences are bedazzled, lifted up, and join in the celebration of the heart and soul of circus: community, joy, and achieving the impossible. We have a diverse and unique company, representing talents from all corners of the world and different backgrounds, perspectives, and special artist's gifts. We feature aerialists, acrobats, family foot jugglers, clowns, and more - all performed to live original music. Throughout the year we present a variety of circus productions which include our Big Top show - an original 90-minute circus spectacular, featuring international circus artists, and local favorite the Circus Bella All-Star Band, as well as our Circus in the Parks a themed series of FREE summer performances in parks.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 61% 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
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: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 54
- Sustainability: 29
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.8%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 87%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
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: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.8%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.07; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 3.92; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 82.8% of revenue deployed · 87% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 13 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $730K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $70K · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.