Lobster Theater Project Killing My Lobster

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
100008474
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
8054529409
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$221,947
Expenses
$243,937
Assets
$36,141
Liabilities
$288

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jessica Baldwin (President)
  • Noni Varani (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Emma McCool (Executive Dir.): $60,708 total reported compensation
  • Nicole Odell (Executive Dir.): $59,078 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

KML's mission is to make fast, smart, inclusive, and fearless sketch comedy that makes people laugh.

What it reported doing in 2024

Killing My Lobster is dedicated to producing high-quality, relevant, and fearless sketch comedy that makes people laugh. We are committed to finding the best and most diverse comedic talent in the Bay Area and bringing those artists together to create original and innovative shows. KML strives to represent the best of the Bay Area accurately and push the boundaries of what's possible in sketch comedy today. In 2024, KML produced 3 original sketch comedy shows: Mythed Opportunity, Toon Out, and The Skin We're In.

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 98% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.5%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $42.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -9.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 49.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.5% of revenue deployed · 81.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $199K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $61K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.