Jess Curtisgravity Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680575118
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2010
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4153228320
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Dance

Reported finances

Revenue
$341,407
Expenses
$395,811
Assets
$470,603
Liabilities
$20,915

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DRESS WEDDING (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • GABRIELE CHRISTIAN DELEON (DIRECTOR/EXEC. DIR. (STARTING MAR.)): $47,535 total reported compensation
  • JESS CURTIS (ARTISTIC/EXECUTIVE DIR. (THRU MAR.)): $16,180 total reported compensation
  • TIFFANY TAYLOR (SECRETARY/ARTIST): $7,980 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Jess curtis/gravity creates exceptionally engaging body-based art that physically addresses issues and ideas of relevance to anyone with a body. Through innovative, accessible, experimental performance, gravity activates the bodies and minds of our viewers, exposing them to new ideas and experiences of the body. Gravity supports the creation and presentation of the work of artistic director jess curtis, as well as that of queer artists, self-identified disabled artists, and emerging dancemakers, and engages with the broader artistic community through gravity access services, which assists arts organizations in making their productions more accessible to audience members with diverse sensory modalities and physicalities.

What it reported doing in 2024

2024 performance season. Jess curtis/gravity presented "beyond gravity" in fall of 2024. This production was instigated by jess curtis following his passing and featured four artists mentored by curtis during his lifetime. Beyond gravity premiered in san francisco on november 21, 2024, in partnership with counterpulse and aimed to specifically engage our racially, ethnically, and physically diverse core audience, including people with visual impairments; and people interested in cultural equity.gravity access services: provided artists and arts organizations a multitude of access services, including live and recorded audio description, pre-show haptic access tours, asl referral services, and more. We provided audio description (ad) for 68 live and recorded performance events in 2024. We also provided a range of different organizational accessibility consultations to local, regional and national arts organizations including cal performances, counterpulse, and several others. Beyond gravity artists services: offers artistic mentorship, professional guidance, production support, and fiscal sponsorship to diverse emerging artists. Since 2018 bg has provided fiscal sponsorship for artists from underserved communities and presented their work, a majority identifying as bipoc, queer, and non-binary.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has grown recently. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 55
  • Accountability: 44
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.3%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 63.7%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $32.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 57.1%; rating input score 57; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: -15.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.19; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.1%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.3% of revenue deployed · 63.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $252K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.