Music and Dance Theater Chicago Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363930153
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3123347777
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,923,315
Expenses
$10,230,407
Assets
$57,314,004
Liabilities
$21,713,189

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

Leadership & pay

39 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Lorraine J Dimun (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lorraine J Dimun (President & CEO): $306,410 total reported compensation
  • Laura E Hanssel (CFO/Assistant Treasurer): $237,570 total reported compensation
  • Susan Roe Lape (VP of Development/Assistant Secretary): $185,982 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O

What it reported doing in 2024

Community Engagement Programs: Generating Lasting Community Impact - Woven through each aspect of the Theaters work are Community Engagement programs that ensure our multicultural programming reaches as many Chicago community members as possible. Our Mix at Six and Family Series break down barriers for patrons to experience the arts in an inclusive environment for all ages and abilities, and our Education Residency Initiative brings the world-renowned artists from our Harris Theater Presents series into Chicago classrooms to provide high school students with hands-on experiences that transform them from audience members to pre-professional artists. We also partner with local community organizations to make programming accessible to patrons of all income levels through the Access Tickets program. Above all, our commitment to DEIA principles permeates our vision to make the Harris Theater truly inclusive and accessible to our community. In addition to the accessible Mix at Six and Family Series, during the 2024-25 Season the Harris Theater distributed 1,650 free Access Tickets to Community Partner organizations and provided arts education and mentorship to 406 students and community members, engaging 52 visiting artists to share their knowledge and experience with these young artists across 21 free Community Engagement events, including a music masterclass with Silkroad Ensemble members Mike Block and Balla Kouyat at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, a poetry workshop with Marc Bamuthi Joseph at Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, and a dance Masterclass at Chicago High School for the Arts with Ragamala Dance Company founders.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -14.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.6; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.8%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 33 of 34 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $8.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $306K · 39 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $992K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.