Houston Swing Dance Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760532098
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7138063866
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$418,368
Expenses
$387,586
Assets
$289,836
Liabilities
$63,700

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MYRON STEVES JR (DIRECTOR-CHAIR/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALESANDRA BULL (DIRECTOR): $8,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

HSDS preserves and celebrates Lindy Hop and swing dance culture through dance education, social dances, workshops, outreach, historical preservation, and programs honoring the legacy of Frankie Manning and the swing-era dance community.

What it reported doing in 2024

HSDS supports a variety of ongoing programs that further its mission of preserving and celebrating Lindy Hop and swing dance culture. Program services include recurring swing dance and Lindy Hop classes, beginner and progressive instruction, community social dances, and special workshops designed to expand access to and awareness of swing-era dance and music. During the year, HSDS also hosted special community dance events and educational workshops, including swing and Balboa instruction. These activities provide opportunities for dancers of varying experience levels to learn, participate, and connect while fostering cultural preservation, intergenerational learning, artistic education, and community building through the arts.

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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 7.4%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.75; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.3% of revenue deployed · 92% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $356K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $8K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.