Heartland Performing Arts Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 882946400
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Berwyn, IL, USA
- Phone
- 7086287877
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Performing Arts Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $695,526
- Expenses
- $550,879
- Assets
- $205,383
- Liabilities
- $-271
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ERIC OLMSCHEID (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- SARA BARASCH (SECRETARY)
- WILLIAM BLAGG (BOARD MEMBER)
- GAIL BOYD (BOARD MEMBER)
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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Heartland performing arts is a nonprofit organization which brings together arts professionals to encourage innovation, create educational opportunities, strengthen artist touring relationships, and support arts advocacy throughout the central united states. The organization was founded by agents, artists, and state consortia leaders from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, plains presenters, southwest presenters, and Wisconsin. The organization's primary purpose is to produce the annual midwest arts xpo (max) booking conference.
What it reported doing in 2025
The midwest arts xpo 2025 was held in milwaukee, wi. The 2026 midwest arts xpo will be in milwaukee, wi again on september 22-25, 2026. The xpo provides professional development, intergenerational mentorship for new colleagues, opportunities to see works of all genres and provides networking opportunities to connect artists, agents, and arts organizations in both formal and informal settings. Max serves a critical role in the performing arts touring ecosystem. While focused on the midwest region, the conference has grown into the second largest booking conference in the touring performing arts industry. Max 2025 by the numbers: 756 total registered attendees (742 attended) representing 34 states, canada, france, and poland 23 professional development sessions 216 exhibitor booths in the exhibit hall marketplace 254 presenting organizations represented 236 showcase performances presented over three nights
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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 - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 49
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 98.1%; rating input score 98
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 20.8%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -6.2% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 35.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 57% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 77.7% of revenue deployed · 98.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $541K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.