Nautilus Music Theater

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411721692
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2019
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6512989913
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$93,713
Expenses
$148,424
Assets
$26,063
Liabilities
$1,431

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ben Krywosz (President & Artistic Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ben Krywosz (President & Artistic Director): $42,155 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Nautilus provides opportunities for the artistic growth of music-theater artists who create, develop, & produce new operas & other forms of music-theater. We seek to use partnerships between creator, performers, and audiences, as well as to create professional training programs for artists. (See Schedule O for complete statement.)

What it reported doing in 2024

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT: Ongoing training and development of music-theater artists, including writers, composers, performers, and directors. These programs usually include our 3-week-long Wesley Balk Institute, our Composer-Librettist Studio, and selected educational activities. In FY25, we held our 42nd Balk Institute and our 71st Composer-Librettist Studio, along with classes with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, vocal training with Teatro del Pueblo, and our annual class at Yale University. We also participated in the National Opera Association Conference and the Twin Cities Theater Conference, as well as private coachings and auditions.

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

SUPPORTED - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 52
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -58.4%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.4% per year; rating input score 0; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -17.9% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $128K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $42K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.