Mesner Puppet Theater

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431458119
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone
8167563500
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$524,464
Expenses
$643,868
Assets
$428,066
Liabilities
$29,849

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kellye Crockett (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Amanda Kibler (Executive Artistic Director): $73,376 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 organization's mission is to inspire play and cultivate connections through puppetry.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our Puppets in Education program combines professional puppetry with arts integrated learning strategies for schools and can be facilitated live or digitally. These programs serve 233 classrooms per year with nearly 5,000 youth and adult participants. For our Arts Integration Residencies program, through classroom facilitation, professional development workshops, family engagement performances, and art installation provocations, What If Puppets becomes a part of a school's culture for an entire school year or more. Artists provide 3 hours of service per classroom, per month. This program serves 116 classrooms per year. "In the Workshop" is an arts integrated social-emotional learning program that combines live interactive performance and resources for educators of early elementary students. The program empowers educators to teach social-emotional learning through art, storytelling, and puppetry. This program leads our scholarship efforts and will be presented to 30 classrooms at no cost.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 74% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 59.8%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th 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: 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: -22.8%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.7% of revenue deployed · 59.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $385K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $73K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 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 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.