Coven

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
934043245
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
6509429506
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Council/Agency

Reported finances

Revenue
$227,198
Expenses
$220,830
Assets
$12,252
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Allyson Young Esposito (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Bonnie Lin (CFO): $46,775 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

COVEN is a creative placemaker that advances socioeconomic mobility for underrepresented artists through storytelling, funding, and activations in Third Places. COVEN is supported by ThirdPlace Partners (TPP), a fractional real estate investment firm that develops community-centered hubs focused on creativity, culture, care, consciousness, and conservation. Our network includes over 12 community spaces in the Bay Area.

What it reported doing in 2025

COVEN is a nonprofit advancing socioeconomic mobility through creative placemaking. It powers entrepreneurial creatives and activates the Third Places where art is made and displayed. We amplify the sidelined voices of underrepresented artists through storytelling and support, providing access to talent, workspace, grants, and commercial opportunities. We support creative spaces through capacity-building, cultural activations, and community development.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 69% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.3%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 67.2%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 23.5%; rating input score 24; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.06; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.3% of revenue deployed · 67.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $148K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $47K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.