Cornerstone Theater Company

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954493498
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
2136131700
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Reported finances

Revenue
$814,529
Expenses
$610,966
Assets
$1,779,303
Liabilities
$42,272

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MEGAN WANLASS (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $113,556 total reported compensation
  • CHARLOTTE BRATHWAITE (CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR (UNTIL 01/31/25)): $63,839 total reported compensation
  • SUNDER GANGLANI (CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $61,564 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cornerstone theater company collaborates with communities. Our work reflects complexity, disrupts assumptions, welcomes difference, and amplifies joy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cornerstone's main programming objective is to collaborate with communities and make art that imagines justice, conspires discourse, manifests expansive joy, and creates change. The company approaches this objective from different points of entry, and our process plays itself out in year-round programming. Cornerstone's community collaborations culminate in fully produced theatrical productions but begin with participatory engagements - story circles, workshops, skill shares and creative mutual aid. Cornerstone's community collaborations unfold across years of intimate, creative labor that includes the public at every juncture as a necessary partner in the development process. The company believe in a "public dramaturgy" that positions audiences -- often composed of wider community members, friends and family -- in dialogue with the work as it develops.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - 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: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 58.3%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 25%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.91; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 39.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -12.5% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47% of revenue deployed · 58.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $356K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $114K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.