Ideas to Inspire
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 383897161
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2013
- Location
- Charleston, SC, USA
- Phone
- 8438102959
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts Education
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $55,497
- Expenses
- $56,695
- Assets
- $3,951
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
People named in this filing
- Mike Sottak (Chair)
- Sewell Kahn (Director)
- Sandy Morkel (Director)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Organize and present TEDxTalks for general public.
What it reported doing in 2024
TEDxCharleston was held April 22-23 at the Charleston Music Hall in Charleston, SC. The half-day events consisted of 13 speakers and four performance acts offering talks and enterainment in TED Talk like format. The main event, on April 23, attracted a live audience of about 900 people and an online audience of many thousands who either viewed the event using the available live streaming services, or subsequently watched the videos of talks and performances afterwards on social media (YouTube). A dress rehearsal event the day before (April 22) attracted an audience of about 500 local high school and college students who were offered a free sneak preview of the event. The event is predominently supported financially by proceeds from ticket sales, with some additional funding received through sponsorships and donations. Major costs and expenses include the venue rental and staffing, production equipment and resources, marketing and promotion, and miscellaneous costs related to logistics and event preparation (including a 3-month coaching progam for all speakers). Other than some contracted services for production and event support, all TEDxCharleston team members are volunteers. The event is in its 13th year and has become an annaul tradition that has a loyal and enthusiastic following.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 81% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 98
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 36
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.8%; rating input score 99
- Program expense ratio: 96.7%; rating input score 97
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -2.2%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.07; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -15.6% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.8% of revenue deployed · 96.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $55K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 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.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.