Fort Mason Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 942348311
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4153457500
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Physical Fitness and Community Recreational Facilities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $14,436,718
- Expenses
- $17,412,389
- Assets
- $78,118,371
- Liabilities
- $35,715,716
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
28 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHAEL BUHLER (CEO & PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL BUHLER (CEO & PRESIDENT): $325,203 total reported compensation
- PATRICK NESTER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $206,228 total reported compensation
- PATRICK HAJDUK (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $196,903 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Fort mason center engages and connects people with arts and culture on a historic waterfront campus. We inspire and foster creativity by providing a vibrant gathering place and a home for thought-provoking programs, events, and organizations.
What it reported doing in 2024
First established as a nonprofit cultural center in 1977, fort mason center for arts & culture (fmcac) has long been host to a lively mix of arts, educational and cultural programming on san francisco's northern waterfront. Each year, fmcac hosts over 10,000 events including art installations, cultural exhibitions, concerts, theatrical productions and more. In addition, fmcac provides over $2.5 million in support to local arts organizations, enabling groups to produce diverse and innovative art works at the historic waterfront campus. With a four-decade history as an arts and culture destination, fmcac is now focused on reinvigorating its programming and amenities to better serve and engage the evolving and dynamic bay area creative community. Central to this new vision is the commissioning and presentation of adventurous and unconventional art works best realized in nontraditional or historic settings.since 2012, fmcac has underwritten a performing arts series, held on site, in which the center awards cash grants and in-kind support to performing arts groups.in addition to performing arts productions, the center hosts a large variety of cultural events including crafts exhibitions, visual art exhibitions, current affairs lectures and business conferences.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 95% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 62% for direct work, and 38% for grants.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 88
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.2%; rating input score 98
- Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: -20.6%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.49; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.2% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $14.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $325K · 28 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $923K reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 13 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.