Ensemble Studio Theatre Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237150345
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2122474982
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,074,695
Expenses
$1,935,394
Assets
$4,061,441
Liabilities
$54,355

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Shawn Randall (Director): $750 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To develop and produce original, provocative, and authentic new plays that engage and challenge audiences in New York City and across the country.

What it reported doing in 2024

EST operates the year round EST/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Project to commission, develop and produce new plays that illuminate the lives of people working in science and technology. For our 2024-2025 season, EST presented two Mainstage productions as part of the EST/Sloan Project: Franklinland by Lloyd Suh and Have You Met Jane Goodall and Her Mother? by Michael Walek. The EST/Sloan project also commissioned 10 new plays, gave out 5 regional seed grants, gave one mainstage initiative (Las Borinqueas) and did 6 developmental FL projects. EST also did a Sloan Brunch, a playwright Cultivation Event and 5 post-show panels.Youngblood, EST's Obie Award winning program for emerging playwrights, meets weekly from September through June, offering artistic guidance, peer support, regular feedback and a fertile production environment for playwrights to hone their skills and explore their craft. In 2024-2025 we welcomed 5 new early-career playwrights as members, and presented 30 new plays in six episodes of the Sunday Brunch series, along with 6 workshops and 11 public readings. We also hosted 22 of our member writers on a week-long Summer Retreat in upstate New York.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% 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

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.5%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 22nd 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: 37.1%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.1; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.5% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $750 · 12 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $105K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.