North Pole Studio

What it reported doing in 2024

Our weekly art classes are offered each quarter, and are available for artists with autism or i/dd who are 16 years and older. This program is specifically designed to serve "transition-aged" young adults who are between the ages of 16-25 and are particularly vulnerable to unemployment, social isolation, and mental health challenges upon graduating from high school. These classes cover diverse tools and techniques, providing students with the opportunity to explore a wide range of art-making methods. Our workshops are offered on a weekly basis, and lessons are designed based on artist request and are either hosted in the studio or at a partnership site. These workshops provide an accessible alternative to community offerings (such as figure drawing, pottery, digital drawing) that are often inaccessible to individuals with disabilities. In 2025 january through june, we offered over 73 opportunities to a diverse community of art students across four, quarterly class terms. Through these classes, we delivered lessons across a wide range of art methods and materials including drawing, sculpture, printmaking, fiber arts, pottery, glassworking, and more. We partnered with over 21 community artists to teach lessons in their area of expertise. Through these partnerships, we taught community artists about how to incorporate accessible practices into their teaching methods. Additionally, we worked with community partners to provide quarterly workshops based on artist request. Our community partners included keen, the marie lamfrom foundation, laika, stephen's place and more. Community outreach workshops are designed to build organic connections between diverse communities of artists through the shared language of the arts. We brought in $11,420 in programming registration fees in 2025 january through june.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 75.1%; rating input score 75
• Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 79
• Fundraising efficiency: $9.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th 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: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • 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 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.55; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 11.9%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 33.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 24.7% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 53.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings