Light House Studio Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
542033510
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Charlottesville, VA, USA
Phone
4342936992
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$787,362
Expenses
$896,471
Assets
$3,007,451
Liabilities
$7,993

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DEANNA GOULD (EXEC. DIRECTOR, DIRECTOR): $90,150 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Light House Studio equips young people with the skills and confidence to tell their stories and build community through collaborative filmmaking. We seek to foster a community where Charlottesvilles young people flourish as students, storytellers, and citizens.

What it reported doing in 2025

Our filmmaking programs focus on storytelling, personal expression and fostering media literacy. Mirroring the explosion of youth media nationally, our workshops include Documentary, Animation, Narrative, Experimental Film, Music Video and Visual Effects. We conduct on site and virtual Keep It Reel filmmaking workshops in partnership with Charlottesville High School, Abundant Life, Lugo McGinnes, Boys and Girls Club, ACE Academy, and Piedmont Family YMCA to name a few. In 2025, Light House taught 93 workshops to 1,514 students resulting in 400 completed films; partnered with 69 local nonprofits and schools; had 34 student films accepted to 21 different film festivals, with student films receiving 24 awards; and provided 66% of students with scholarships allowing them to attend at free or reduced cost. 96% of our students reported improved creativity; 96% improved their collaboration skills; and 94% improved storytelling and critical thinking skills. In addition, 6,594 people visited the Vinegar Hill Theatre across 89 events. The majority of the events were film screenings of independent documentary, narrative, and animated films, many created by our student filmmakers.

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 the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 72.8%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.9%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.35; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.1%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 72.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $653K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $90K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.