Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201282095
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Des Moines, IA, USA
Phone
5159544571
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$558,675
Expenses
$1,677,635
Assets
$3,518,500
Liabilities
$3,834

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRUCE HENTSCHEL (PRESIDENT)
  • JEFF FLEMING (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ALEXA MCCARTHY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALEXA MCCARTHY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $121,769 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The greater des moines public art foundation places art in public spaces through public and private collaborations.

What it reported doing in 2025

The greater des moines public art foundation engaged in a variety of projects. A complete list of past, current, and future projects can be found on the organization's website. The website offers a detailed description of the artist and the meaning behind the artwork.several projects are ongoing and some projects can take several years to finish. The greater des moines public art foundation works diligently to create new projects every year.

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

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: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -200.3%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.1; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $122K · 22 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.