Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 411428998
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Saint Paul, MN, USA
- Phone
- 6512823000
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Performing Arts Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $29,498,607
- Expenses
- $23,226,549
- Assets
- $91,178,607
- Liabilities
- $4,546,885
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
42 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Christopher L Harrington (President and CEO)
- Diane L Nixa (Vice President of Advancement)
Highest reported compensation
- Christopher L Harrington (President and CEO): $366,372 total reported compensation
- Diane L Nixa (Vice President of Advancement): $224,144 total reported compensation
- Christine M Sagstetter (EVP and CFO): $216,564 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Ordway center for the performing arts (the ordway) mission is to be a cornerstone of exceptional artistic, educational, and cultural experiences.
What it reported doing in 2024
Facilities - provide a world-class venue for the presentation of theatrical, multi-disciplinary, international, and educational programs, including those of ordway's resident arts organizations, the saint paul chamber orchestra, the Minnesota opera, and the schubert club. These programs served approximately 214,000 individuals, via in-person attendance and through virtual viewings, during the period of july 1, 2024, to june 30, 2025.
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 99% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 78
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69%; rating input score 69
- Program expense ratio: 82.6%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 21.3%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.93; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 69% of revenue deployed · 82.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 33 of 34 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $19.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $366K · 42 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $970K reported
- Consistency: 50 of 50 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.