Circus Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 943173332
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4157598123
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Performing Arts Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,045,202
- Expenses
- $2,094,167
- Assets
- $231,548
- Liabilities
- $962,254
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jeff Thomas (Executive Director (8/26/24 - 11/11/24))
- Anne Clark (Executive Director (11/18/24 - 10/3/24))
Highest reported compensation
- Jeff Thomas (Executive Director (8/26/24 - 11/11/24)): $29,403 total reported compensation
- Anne Clark (Executive Director (11/18/24 - 10/3/24)): $11,291 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To inspire passion for the circus arts through training, performance, and community engagement. In FY24-25, we provided 4,400 classes to 1,800 participants, produced 6 shows, and provided sustained enrichment activities to dozens of underserved youth.
What it reported doing in 2024
TRAINING: Circus Center offers classes for every level of ability in flying trapeze, acrobatics, aerial arts, contortion, juggling, and many other disciplines. We have training for all ages, from our recreational and pre-professional youth programs serving students as young as 6 years old, to our recreational adult classes and private lessons. In addition, we offer artist residencies; summer camp; corporate, youth, and group events; workshops; specialty intensives; and much more. Our world-renowned team of instructors have performed with the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe, Moscow Circus, Cirque du Soleil, Pickle Family Circus, Circus Bella, Circus Smirkus, Teatro ZinZanni, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, and the Big Apple Circus.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 67% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 22
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 75.9%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 5th 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: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -2.4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.11; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 4.16; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 77.7% of revenue deployed · 75.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $29K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.