Friends of Kentucky Theatre

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
872882616
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lexington, KY, USA
Phone
8592316997
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,720,867
Expenses
$1,720,872
Assets
$366,146
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Lisa Meek (Board Chair)
  • Bradford Queen (Treasurer)
  • Anita Courtney (Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The Kentucky Theatre is a historic building in downtown Lexington, KY, that had fallen into disuse and disrepair. Purchased by the City of Lexington, The Friends of the Kentucky Theatre Inc is a nonprofit tasked with overseeing the restoration, maintenance, operation, and future expansion of the theater in a public-private partnership with the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government. The theater is used by the City, by Nonprofits & NGOs, and by the public for a myriad of local programs, live events, artists & entertainers, including offering modern & classic films, locally written & produced films, historical and other specialty films not available in commercial theatres, as well as film school partnerships with students & faculty at the University of Kentucky. The restoration and maintenance of the historical landmark property, over 100 years old, is an ongoing labor of love.

What it reported doing in 2024

2024 was an enormously busy year for the Kentucky Theatre. We sold more than 51,000 tickets to 266 independent, foreign, documentary, and regional films of artistic and/or cultural merit. Supported local nonprofit organizations through donations and rental discounts. Partnered with ten community organizations on film events. Organized four special film/live music events. Presented eight unique screenings with director Q&As and/or panel discussions. Continued seven original curated film series or festivals, including Central Kentucky's first competitive international film festival. SUPPORTING LOCAL NONPROFITS: Each year, The Kentucky Theatre joins forces with local nonprofits to help them raise money for their efforts. We may provide the venue rent-free, discount our rental fees, split ticket proceeds from a special event, or donate a portion of ticket proceeds from regularly scheduled films. For example: For CatVideoFest 2024 we donated a portion of ticket sales to Halfway Home Rescue, Inc [a 501(c)(3) organization] to support their animal rescue efforts. We also hosted their feline adoption fair in our lobby during the film screening. During the Special Screenings of the Oscar-winning Animated Film Flow we donated a portion of each ticket sale to the Woodford Humane Society [a 501(c)(3) organization]. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: The Kentucky Theatre places great emphasis on forging partnerships with community organizations. Here is a brief list of some of the partner events that took place in 2024. For THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY an event featuring Fellini: Four Films, which is a four-film retrospective of the work of the great Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini planned in coordination with and hosted by University of Kentucky film scholars Raymond De Luca and Matteo Benassi. We sold 440 tickets to this series. Additionally, we featured The Best of Billy: Four Classic Films by Billy Wilder, which was a four-film retrospective of the work of the legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder planned in coordination with and hosted by University of Kentucky film scholar Jordan Brower. We sold 334 tickets to this series. With the UK ART MUSEUM we hosted ART ON SCREEN, which seeks to broaden an interest in the arts through the creative pairing of films about art and artists with entertaining discussions by notable speakers from the world of art and art history. For BCTC we hosted a Screening of Student Films. We partnered with the Bluegrass Community and Technical College and the University of Kentucky to showcase short films by student filmmakers at these two institutions. LIVE EVENTS: In addition to movies we provided the venue for many local orgs. ORIGINS JAZZ: The Origins Jazz Series was founded to fulfill the role that jazz clubs play in many American cities. Origins is a hub for audiences and performers to come together and celebrate the art, culture, and community of jazz. Origins Jazz is dedicated to high quality performances in compelling venues, jazz literacy, and uniting our community through music. The Kentucky Theatre was proud to partner with Origins Jazz to bring nationally prominent jazz performers to our venue in 2024. This partnership continues in 2025. THE LEXINGTON URBAN LEAGUE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS: We teamed up with this community-based organization to present a screening of Hoodlum in celebration of Black History Month. GET HAAPI KY: The Kentucky Theatre partnered to host three films in celebration of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. VALVOLINE, INC. AFRICAN AMERICAN AND BLACK EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUP: We teamed up with this organization to present a free screening of the film 42: The Jackie Robinson Story, in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. SPECIAL FILM AND LIVE MUSIC EVENTS: These events featured music from our historic 1920s pipe organ, as well as local choirs, and techno audio-visual special effects. For example, we presented Silent Film Classic The Freshman with Live Organ Accompaniment. We screen

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 91% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.6% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32.4% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 93.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 41 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.