Ngoma Center for Dance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454864757
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2025408338
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$490,664
Expenses
$454,744
Assets
$326,968
Liabilities
$52,500

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Shawn Short (CEO-Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Shawn Short (CEO-Executive Director)
  • Dave Domzalski (Chairman)
  • Tyler Lewis (Vice Chairman)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Ngoma Center for Dance N-Go-mah is a 501c3 whose mission is to cultivate equitable opportunities and creative career pathways through professional training essential performance and entrepreneurship development.

What it reported doing in 2025

DDT is the Resident Ballet of Ngoma Center for Dance. Named One of the 11 small-but-mighty dance companies outside of LA and NYC by Dance Spirit Magazine Dissonance Dance Theatre is a Washington DC-based professional dance company founded in 2007 by Shawn Short. Since its inception Dissonance Dance Theatre has performed for local and national audiences on the east coast and midwest states. Evoking emotional experiences in the audiences we touch Dissonances cutting-edge repertoire features works that are socially and visually appealing to audiences while remaining true to its mission; challenging the audiences assumptions about the human experience through dance. FY2024 Ngoma provided hours of pro bono consultation to Black-led The Creative Space and Textures Dance Theater. Next Ngomas Dissonance Dance Theatre becomes a Resident Arts Partner with Atlas Performing Arts Center after 16 years of arts impact and engagement. Also Ngoma attended and adjudicated at the International Association of Blacks in Dance 35th annual conference in Memphis TN providing 60 youth scholarships and eight professional contracts to dancers. For a second year Ngoma continued to work with Joy of Motion Dance Center H Street as they provided Dissonance Dance Theatre rehearsal space operations. Second Dissonance Dance Theatre DDT celebrates its 16th season. DDTs Resident Choreographer Kareem B. Goodwin becomes a Princess Grace Award Nominee NYC in Choreography. Ngoma provided $11,000 in artist housing assistance and more than $80,000 in artist fees and hired and petitioned its first cast of international dancers. Ngoma successfully completes its first dance medicine program for company dancers - a rarity in Washington DC. For the second time Dissonance Dance Theatre makes Dance Data Projects Largest 150 US Ballet Classically Based Company list!

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 24
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.3%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 61.8%; rating input score 62
  • 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.3%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.6% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.3% of revenue deployed · 61.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $281K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 19 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: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.