Friends of the Garden Theater

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
832531689
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Frankfort, MI, USA
Phone
2313527561
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Reported finances

Revenue
$420,656
Expenses
$500,198
Assets
$3,243,052
Liabilities
$16,517

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICK SCHMITT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATIE JONES (EXECUTIVE DI): $78,405 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The friends of the garden theater, a charitable organization, was formed in 2019 to ensure the garden theater remains a vital part of the frankfort and benzie county community. The garden theater is not only a cinema, it is a community asset utilized for fundraisers, concerts, weddings, talent shows/pageants, historical and current events presentations, and more.

What it reported doing in 2024

Film festivals - the frankfort 48 is an amateur showcase of 2-minute films by high schoolers and in october hosts a 4 to 5 day annual film festival showing 4-5 more obscure films each day.

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.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 57.5%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -18.9%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.48; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.7%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 47% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.6% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74% of revenue deployed · 57.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $287K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $78K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 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: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.