Oberlin Center for the Arts

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
813197769
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Oberlin, OH, USA
Phone
4405740542
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$236,522
Expenses
$279,097
Assets
$150,717
Liabilities
$30,779

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DARREN HAMM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DARREN HAMM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $95,267 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Connecting arts and the community.

What it reported doing in 2020

Arts education: oberlin center for the arts administers in-school (oberlin city schools) and after-school (elyria city schools and sandusky city schools) arts enrichment programming that is free and serving more than 200 elementary school-aged students per year. In partnership with district administrators and faculty, as well as community arts organizations, courses are offered multiple days each week and include the visual arts, theatre/drama, choral, and instrumental music and dance. Participating students also receive a variety of wrap around support including homework assistance and a meal/snack as well as transportation to and from their home-school where needed.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 68.6%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: -18%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 34.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -11.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81% of revenue deployed · 68.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $191K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $95K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2017 to 2020
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.