Deaf West Theatre Company Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 954315054
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2017
- Location
- Studio City, CA, USA
- Phone
- 8187622998
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Theater
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $578,811
- Expenses
- $565,192
- Assets
- $767,050
- Liabilities
- $36,869
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID KURS (ART. DIR/CEO)
- MARK FREUND (Vice President)
- ED WATERSTREET (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- JEFF PERRI (MANAGING DIR): $85,000 total reported compensation
- DAVID KURS (ART. DIR/CEO): $85,000 total reported compensation
- BEVERLY NERO (Secretary): $12,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Deaf west theatre company was founded to directly improve and enrich the cultural lives of the 1.2 million deaf and hard of hearing individuals who live in the greater los angeles area. Dwtc provides exposure and access to professional theatre, filling a void.
What it reported doing in 2025
Deaf west theatre has established the following three major programs: deaf west (since 1991) aims to produce 1-2 main stage productions annually. Past productions have featured classics, contemporary, adaptations and original works. Experienced and professional deaf, hard of hearing and hearing actors, directors, designers and technicians comprise their casts and crews. Sets, lighting and costume designs exhibit a high standard of excellence, as the visual element in sign language theatre demands utmost attention to visual aesthetic values. Deaf west's productions are presented in american sign language (asl) and spoken english simultaneously. Captioning is also provided for hearing and non-signing members of the audience.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 77% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.1%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: 2.4%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.36; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 32.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 81.1% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $469K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $85K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 to 2025
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.