Circusense Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814566698
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
7188750428
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$920,322
Expenses
$784,033
Assets
$223,246
Liabilities
$342,235

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LISA B LEWIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA B LEWIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $42,688 total reported compensation
  • NOE ESPANA (BOARD DIR AND CREATIVE DIR): $24,970 total reported compensation
  • BARBARA PFLUGHAUPT (BOARD DIRECTOR): $15,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2024

Notable Achievements for Fiscal Year - Presented the Im Possible show in 15 venues across 9 states - Attended by 23,000 patrons - Performed at 24 schools in the NYC area includgin 5 for ADAPT (formerly United Cerebral Palsy) - Served 7,500 NYC Students with school shows - Presented a 6 week program at Sunrise Camp in Long Island, serving ages 5 - 21 with cancer and disabilities - Oversaw inclusive internships (by PII) and engaged 2 inters - Participated in the WAWABILITY! Events, which featured Omnium artists. - Executive Director served on a national panel for inclusivity in the ARTS

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

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: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.9%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd 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: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.8%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.53; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.3%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 35.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 47.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.9% of revenue deployed · 82.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $644K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $43K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.