Freehold Theatre Lab Studio

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911707113
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2063237499
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Reported finances

Revenue
$528,953
Expenses
$455,724
Assets
$575,448
Liabilities
$418,893

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Annie Williams (President)
  • Mark Johnson (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Robin Lynn Smith (Artistic and Founding Partner): $30,660 total reported compensation
  • Randy Dixon (Managing Director): $23,066 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Freehold engages the artist in every human, through theatrical training, experimentation, and practice; to foster a deeper connection with themselves and with each other in pursuit of radical mutuality.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our Theatre Lab provides a forum for experimentation by professionals, the development of new performance material, and the rediscovery of classics. The Lab enables artists to explore new ways of working in order to forge a deeper connection between actor and audience, self and community, life and art. Programs of our lab included Engaged Theatre, a program that tours productions to culturally underserved audiences and hosts theatre residencies in partnership with WA State Department of Corrections. Our lab reaches 500 audience members annually. In the fall of 2024, the Theatre Lab completed a weeklong workshop culminating in the reading of hidden/current - a new play commissioned by Freehold that would ultimately be produced in Cape Town, SA in the fall of 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.4%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 76.8%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.8%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.26; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.73; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.4% of revenue deployed · 76.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $350K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $31K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.