Columbus Association for the Performing Arts

What it reported doing in 2024

Our education and engagement programs include the capa marquee awards, an official regional awards program of the national high school musical theatre awards, the passport to learning student matinee series, applause broadway for kids, broadway in the classroom, arise (arts through intergenerational social engagement), dia de los ninos/day of the children, schooled on poetry, workshops and master classes, community engagement, and tours of the historic theatres. We reach out to underserved schools and communities through free programs and events, reduced and free tickets, and subsidies for busing students to our theatres. More than 73,000 community members benefitted from our education and engagement programs during the fiscal year. 26 schools participated in the seventh annual capa marquee awards presented by american electric power foundation, reaching 2,300 high school students. Throughout the year, students participated in a series of free master classes and workshops with local and regional artists, including the touring broadway companies of "the book of mormon", dr. Seuss's "how the grinch stole christmas", "& juliet", "funny girl", and "peter pan". The 2025 capa marquee awards showcase presented by american electric power foundation was held at the Ohio theatre on may 9. 212 student performers and student technical crew members worked on the red-carpet event which included the announcement of winners in each category and included performances from the nominees for best musical production and best performer in a leading role, as well as opening and closing numbers that incorporated students from all participating high schools. In june 2025, capa marquee awards winners, kamryn dansby (pickerington high school north) and jakob robinson (bexley high school) received a capa-sponsored trip to New York city to represent the capa marquee awards and central Ohio at the 2025 jimmy awards. For ten days, they joined top musical theatre students from across the country for private coaching, master classes, and rehearsals in preparation for a special showcase performance at the minskoff theatre on broadway on june 23. This was our 14th season producing matinee performances for students in grades pre-k-12. This year, we awarded a total of $12,012 in scholarship and transportation assistance for our six in-person productions of "cirque kalabante", "a christmas carol", "let's go science show", "artrageous", "the unauthorized autobiography series and "123 andres". In addition to in-person performances, we also offered a virtual performance of dreamers to 7,747 students and teachers. Through grant funding, we provided the virtual program, "bite-size science", to all columbus city elementary schools. This arts-based program teaches life science through steam education by offering 10-15 minute video lessons. In each video, zoologist and educator lucas miller presents a fun lesson using music, art, and nature footage to engage students with learning about animals and the natural world. 14,246 students used the program from september 2024-march 2025. Our broadway for kids applause program awarded more than $32,964 in subsidies and provided 807 students and teachers in 8 counties with the opportunity to attend dr. Seuss's how the grinch stole christmas, peter pan, & juliet, funny girl, and a beautiful noise. This was the third year of broadway in the classroom, and we worked with students from columbus international high school in december and january on curriculum centered around the musical, "& juliet". On february 21, students travelled to the Ohio theatre for a pre-show dinner reception, a performance of "& juliet", and a post-show talkback with the cast. As an extension of festival latino, we were excited to host our third dia de los ninos in 2025. On april 13, we welcomed more than 400 guests to the lincoln theatre for a cultural celebration. The event began with pre-show cultural and arts activities, including dance performance and ins

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 65.9%; rating input score 66
• Program expense ratio: 75.3%; rating input score 75
• Fundraising efficiency: $6.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • 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: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 13.4%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.93; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.5%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings