Dancing Grounds

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
455084235
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2014, Form 990-N 2013
Location
New Orleans, LA, USA
Phone
5045355791
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Dance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$834,542
Expenses
$878,915
Assets
$581,602
Liabilities
$45,404

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Candi Dugas (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Candi Dugas (Executive Director)
  • Brittney Robins (Secretary)
  • Byron Meredith (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Dancing Grounds brings high quality, inclusive and accessible dance education programs to New Orleans residents of all ages and backgrounds. We use dance as a vehicle for developing young leaders, inspiring health and wellness, and promoting social justice.

What it reported doing in 2023

Adult Education Dancing Grounds creates warm and welcoming space for adults of all ages, backgrounds and ability levels to move and express themselves. We serve over 1,000 adults per year with 20 weekly classes at our studio and satellite locations across the city.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% 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 available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.1%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 46.6%; rating input score 47
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -5.3%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49.1% of revenue deployed · 46.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $410K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.