Columbia Childrens Theatre

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202793199
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2010
Location
Columbia, SC, USA
Phone
8036914548
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$430,051
Expenses
$234,302
Assets
$28,301
Liabilities
$91,266

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Martha Jones (Board President)

People named in this filing

  • Diane Davis (Board Member)
  • Troy Davis (Board Member)
  • Robin Jackson (Board Member)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Inspired by the intelligence and emotional wisdom of young people, we create professional theatre for youth and families, foster inclusive community, and nurture meaningful learning through the arts. We provide these experiences through professional theatrical productions geared for families and young audiences. In addition, our education initiative includes opportunities for students in grades k-12 including after school classes, summer camps, in-school residencies, and the opportunity to participate in fully-mounted productions throughout the year.

What it reported doing in 2024

Columbia Children's Theatre's Education initiative offers a wide range of training opportunities in acting, singing, dance, improvisation, directing, designing, and creative play for students from age three through 12th grade, with all classes taught by professional artists and experienced theatre educators from local school districts. In the most recent season, this program provided 22 after-school classes and 31 week-long summer camps, serving a total of 1,041 students. Additionally, year-long in-school residencies at two local elementary schools introduced 285 students to the fundamentals of theatre, culminating in performances for friends and family. As part of the Education initiative, Columbia Children's Theatre also offers highly sought-after, hands-on internships to middle and high school students, providing them with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to work side-by-side with industry professionals and gain practical experience in technical theatre. In the past season, 20 student interns honed their skills as scenic artists, builders, costumers, lighting designers, and assistant stage managers, preparing them for future success in the arts and beyond.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 24
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 20.9%; rating input score 21
  • Program expense ratio: 38.3%; rating input score 38
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 22nd 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 45.5%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.12; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 3.22; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 20.9% of revenue deployed · 38.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $90K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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: Mission deployment rate scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.