Cotuit Center for the Arts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043223784
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cotuit, MA, USA
Phone
5084280669
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,248,958
Expenses
$3,077,515
Assets
$2,588,878
Liabilities
$982,545

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHIE LYNCH NUTTING (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID KUEHN (EXECUTIVE DI): $145,549 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To supply the community with an array of programs that encourage individual artistic development, exploration, and experimentation, and to increase awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the creative process by facilitating communication and interaction among artists and between artists and the public.

What it reported doing in 2025

Creation: at the core of the organization's programs is the creation of multi-disciplinary performance and art programs and events to be shared with and enjoyed by the community. Annually the organization produces six to eight major theatrical productions, six to ten black box or experimental theatrical productions, dozens of special events including musical concerts, festivals, film screenings, staged readings and workshops. Approximately twelve to fourteen visual art shows are hung in the gallery annually and students in the visual arts education programs create original works on a regular basis. Over a dozen annual collaborations with other local arts and community organizations result in a variety of additional programs at the center.

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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.1%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 63.2%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.3%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.7%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.1% of revenue deployed · 63.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 16 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $146K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.