Open Arts Minnesota

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831893608
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Mankato, MN, USA
Phone
5077796292
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Service Organizations and Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$81,694
Expenses
$90,493
Assets
$17,357

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Wilbur Neushwander-Frink (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Emily Austvold (Co-Secretary)
  • Erin Ebert (Member at Large)
  • Cheryl Hutcens (Vice-Chair)

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

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

Overview

Mission

Open Arts Minnesota creates and fosters inclusive artistic activities for people with disabilities who are of diverse abilities and ages seeking opportunities to discover their unique creative gifts, develop and practice skills, and share their creations in a supportive, compassionate environment.

What it reported doing in 2025

Expansion and impact of the In-Person Theatre Programs. In 2025, Open Arts Minnesota significantly expanded its inperson theatre programming across Mankato, New Ulm, and Fairmont, providing consistent creative opportunities for actors with disabilities. These programs offered regular rehearsals, public performances, and community arts participation, resulting in substantial engagement throughout the year. The Aktion Club Theatre of Mankato recorded 484 participant engagements, the United We Stand Players of New Ulm recorded 230 participant engagements, and the Aktion Club Theatre of Fairmont recorded 693 participant engagements, with Fairmont nearly doubling in size as rehearsals for a new play began. These programs not only strengthened acting skills and confidence but also connected participants with their communities through events such as variety shows, fairs, and Disability Pride celebrations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 74% for direct work, and 26% for member benefits.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 42
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 43.1%; rating input score 43
  • Program expense ratio: 38.9%; rating input score 39

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.8%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 43.1% of revenue deployed · 38.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $35K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 6 of 7 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part I part ii net assets crosscheck did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.