Material Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 861834083
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New Orleans, LA, USA
- Phone
- 2252482122
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Humanities Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,771,205
- Expenses
- $2,103,487
- Assets
- $821,228
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NATHALIE SIMON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- JOHN NORWOOD (PRESIDENT & SECRETARY)
Highest reported compensation
- NATHALIE SIMON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $99,894 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The material institute is a non-profit arts center in the 9th ward of new orleans that expands access to resources for a new generation of new orleans artists in the fields of music, fashion, and gardening.
What it reported doing in 2024
Material institutes fashion & textiles (f&t) department is a one-year curriculum-based design foundation taught by a team of fashion designers, artists, and industry professionals. The program emphasizes conscious material practices; handmade textiles are implemented and encouraged through experimentation in both traditional techniques and contemporary technologies. In 2024, the program graduated 13 participants from the curriculum-based program. Two graduates went on to pursue postsecondary education in fashion, including one at the world renowned fashion institute of technology in New York city. The program hosted two industry panels made up of 5 industry experts to provide feedback and critique to the fashion participants end-of-year portfolio. F&t hosted world renowned west african textile and dye artist, aboubakar fofana, for an indigo dye workshop and artist talk. The program also partnered with hotel st. Vincent to host an artist talk with designers, diotima x zankov. In 2024, 51 people attended public workshops on marigold dye, bucket hats, t-shirts, hoodies, and beading and embellishments. The program employed a department chair, program manager, studio director, lead instructor, and program administrator, all of whom are full-time, and one part-time hand-stitch instructor/open studio manager.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 61
- Transparency & Controls: 55
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 59
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 61.2%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 80.7%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 24.1%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.7%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 96.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 99.2% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 106.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 61.2% of revenue deployed · 80.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.