Dallas Contemporary

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
751575687
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Dallas, TX, USA
Phone
2148212522
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Visual Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,935,534
Expenses
$2,230,521
Assets
$3,684,802
Liabilities
$1,972,965

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CLIFF RISMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • ANN MCREYNOLDS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ROD SAGER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • CAROLINA ALVAREZ-MATHIES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • MARY SIMEK (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAROLINA ALVAREZ-MATHIES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $176,542 total reported compensation
  • MARY SIMEK (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $139,167 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Dallas contemporary presents art in a forum that cultivates artists, ignites learning and inspires the community. Dallas contemporary is a non-collecting art museum presenting new and challenging ideas from regional, national and international artists. The institution is committed to engaging the public through exhibitions, lectures, educational programs and events.

What it reported doing in 2024

Events and exhibitions: see schedule oevents and exhibitions: a non-collecting kunsthalle-style art space, dallas contemporary presents the forefront of contemporary artistic practice and production through exhibitions, performances, and public programs that advance the discovery and appreciation of art of this moment. In 2024, dallas contemporary welcomed 16,058 visitors through four major exhibitions: who's afraid of cartoony figuration?, a group exhibition exploring the playful and subversive possibilities of figuration; patrick martinez: histories, featuring new work examining urban landscapes and social memory; chivas clem: shirttail kin, a deeply personal installation reflecting on family, heritage, and the american south; and brian fridge: view finder, part of in the path of totality, a series of seven commissions supported by the simons foundation. The museum also hosted the second annual dallas art book fair, which brought together over 1,600 visitors for a weekend celebrating independent publishing and artist books.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.3%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 51.3%; rating input score 51
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.65; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.54; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.2%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.3% of revenue deployed · 51.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $112K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.