Kansas City Art Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
440546278
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone
800.522.5224
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Higher Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$46,598,365
Expenses
$49,560,856
Assets
$183,884,709
Liabilities
$32,876,830

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALLISON PUFF (EVP ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND CO-PRESIDENT)
  • BRIAN HENKE (CFO AND CO-PRESIDENT)
  • RUKI NEUHOLD-RAVIKUMAR (PRESIDENT RESIGNED 10/23)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRIAN HENKE (CFO AND CO-PRESIDENT): $269,608 total reported compensation
  • ALLISON PUFF (EVP ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND CO-PRESIDENT): $269,138 total reported compensation
  • RUKI NEUHOLD-RAVIKUMAR (PRESIDENT RESIGNED 10/23): $198,524 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Kansas City Art Institute is a private, independent college of art and design.

What it reported doing in 2024

The college provided educational programs to approximately 807 fall (2024) fte and 762 spring (2025) fte bachelor of fine arts degree-seeking students. The institute also provided financial aid to students in the form of scholarships and grants.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 90% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 52% for direct work, and 48% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 83.3%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.71; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 92.8% of revenue deployed · 83.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $41.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $270K · 33 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.7M reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.