McColl Center for Art Innovation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510195015
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Charlotte, NC, USA
Phone
7043325535
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Visual Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,488,926
Expenses
$2,338,383
Assets
$14,500,478
Liabilities
$352,217

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Armando Bellmas (Interim Pres): $129,591 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We envision a community where contemporary artists and an engaged public enhance their creative capacity through relevant, diverse, and accessible experiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public engagementcreativity camps (july-august 2024, june 2025) are a series of week-long, full day art camps designed for young artists to spark imagination, encourage self-discovery, and make lifelong connections to many expressions of art. Camps included ceramics, digital illustration, mixed media, fashion, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, and painting.young artist studio series (6-week series) is designed for young artists in grades 2nd through 8th who want to delve into and master the basics of a specific medium. Participants chose from several exciting courses: fashion, digital illustration and ceramic sculpture. Teaching artists guided students through the fundamentals of their chosen medium; fostering creativity and encouraging exploration.adult artist studio series (6-week series) is for artists of any skill level who want to learn new techniques and expand their practice. Whether they are just beginning their journey or looking to try a new medium, our teaching artists guided them through the process and helped them make it their own. Rather than focusing on specific projects or a finished product, these classes helped artists apply new skills to play and take risks and create work in their own voice. We held 14 artist studio series throughout the year.beyond the studio series (2 workshops) explored everything an artist needs to know beyond making art to grow and expand their practice. One workshop focused on spreadsheets and organizational systems for artists, including data management for collectors, archives, and finances. The other workshop featured an artist who works closely with interior designers and shared insight on licensing artwork, navigating design-based markets, and expanding audiences. These workshops were led by art professionals who guided participants through the many pathways of a creative career. Mccoll center aimed to help artists clarify what success means to them and support them in building a sustainable, long-term practice.each artist-in-residence participated in a unique and intentional public engagement opportunity, fulfilling our mission to spark creative, relevant, and accessible experiences for an engaged public. Programing included a range of workshops, artist talks, open studios, and family activities that connected community members directly with contemporary artists and their practices.mccoll center also hosted eight family days, each featuring hands-on activities inspired by the exhibitions and artists-in-residence on view. These free, multigenerational events invited toddlers, teens, and adults to create artworks together and explore the galleries through accessible, family-friendly programming.workshops included sensory-inclusive textile dyeing with reclaimed materials; collaborative art-making exploring nature and culture; transforming battery-operated toys into kinetic sculptures; an introduction to weaving; a teen zine workshop using historical and contemporary imagery of charlotte; a session on restarting and sustaining an art practice; a master-level printmaking workshop; and an all-ages frankenstuffies workshop where participants deconstructed and reassembled soft toys to create new, original creatures. These programs provided multiple entry points into contemporary art and offered participants direct insight into artists processes.mccoll center also hosted nine artist talks, including three sets featuring the artists-in-residence and additional talks for each exhibition, with two offered virtually to expand access.the center presented two open studio saturdays and a studio social evening event, providing free opportunities for the public to visit studios, learn about work in progress, and engage directly with the artists.a yoga workshop offered in conjunction with one exhibition was provided at a below-market, accessible rate to encourage broader community participation.the winter art market featured fifteen charlotte-based artists presenting affordable small-scale fine ar

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.2%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 60.6%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -57.1%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.2; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.5%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.2% of revenue deployed · 60.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $130K · 21 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $109K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.