Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
481066435
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Phone
9542706452
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$266,711
Expenses
$284,164
Assets
$58,605
Liabilities
$41,501

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JESSE CARLO (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • CARRIE GILCHRIST (Employee): $69,000 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL HEIM (Treasurer): $12,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide educational and charitable arts-based programs that empower individuals from all from all backgrounds to develop creativity and self-expression through the collaborative creation and performance of original theatrical works.

What it reported doing in 2025

Lovewell ignites the spark of creative thinking in students, parents, artists, teachers and the surrounding community. Our programs galvanize our fragmented communities and rally people around issues of common concern by creating publicly performed theatre pieces. Employing the Lovewell Method, our staff guides students through the rough waters of bringing order out of chaos. The themes, characters, dialogue, plot, music, lyrics, design & dances in our productions are generated directly from the imagination & experience of the students. The Lovewell Method utilizes creative problem-solving. The process of creating our shows is a training ground for group dynamics, team building, organizational strategy, emotional intelligence, and skills.

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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.7%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: -6.5%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.71; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.5%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.7% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $235K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.