Mt Airy Art Garage

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465490288
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2673232312
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Council/Agency

Reported finances

Revenue
$126,807
Expenses
$133,739
Assets
$78,629
Liabilities
$55,813

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GERALD ALSTON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • PATRICIA SMITH (EXECUTIVE DI): $5,250 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mt airy art garage (maag) serves as an incubator for professional and emerging artists who work in creative partnerships with each other and with local adults and youth to spread the spirit of art, community and sustainable living throughout northwest philadelphia.

What it reported doing in 2025

Our vision is to provide communal space for creativity, collaboration, self-actualization, social engagement, and celebration. We function as a gathering place for artists and all those who seek to bring an eco-friendly and artistic sensibility to their lives. We utilize creative expression as an instrument for social change and foster civic engagement and community revitalization through the arts. We also serve as a center for children and adults to learn, find safe space, and rejoice in the unique creativity that springs from us all.

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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.9%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 81
  • 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: 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: 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: -5.5%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.71; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.9% of revenue deployed · 81.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $109K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $5K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.