Epacenter

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472008341
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2017
Location
East Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone
6503132626
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,683,541
Expenses
$3,437,890
Assets
$27,938,705
Liabilities
$293,479

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NADINE RAMBEAU (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • NADINE RAMBEAU (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $243,815 total reported compensation
  • JACINDA ABCARIAN (DIRECTOR OF RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT): $170,259 total reported compensation
  • DAVID CASTRO (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES): $139,448 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Epacenter's mission is to increase opportunities for people of all ages to discover and amplify their talents, realize their potential, and impact the world through art, design, and technology.

What it reported doing in 2024

Epacenter is an organization that helps east palo alto residents to amplify their talents, realize their potential, and impact their world through art and design. Epacenter engages residents of east palo alto, in a range of art programs to develop their intrinsic voices, their sense of creative agency, and the creative, critical thinking and socio-emotional skills they need to succeed. Epacenter accomplishes this by: 1) offering free, culturally responsive instruction in design and the digital, visual, literary, and performing arts in school, afterschool, and during the summer; 2) engaging youth in organizational decision-making, key leadership roles, and cultural leadership opportunities; 3) linking them to meaningful summer employment opportunities, college, and careers; and 4) activating their sense of civic engagement as citizens and artists.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.9%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 54.6%; rating input score 55
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd 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: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th 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: -28.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.13; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.2%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 41.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 28.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.9% of revenue deployed · 54.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $244K · 9 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $175K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.