Otakorp Inc.

Legal name: Otakorp Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
251800552
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Hanover, MD, USA
Phone
6105776133
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,409,868
Expenses
$3,552,049
Assets
$4,133,756
Liabilities
$73,155

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BROOKE ZERRLAUT (PRESIDENT)
  • LACEY KISHTER (PRESIDENT/VP)

People named in this filing

  • BROOKE ZERRLAUT (PRESIDENT)
  • LACEY KISHTER (PRESIDENT/VP)
  • MATTHEW SMIECHOWSKI (TREASURER)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The purpose of the Otakorp, Inc. is to foster an awareness and appreciation of the Japanese media of serial comic (“Manga”) and animation (“Anime”); and the artistic community involvement in their creation by providing a forum for exhibitions of key work in these media; and panel discussions featuring creators from Japan and the United States; workshops and related activities; moreover to provide an environment and support mechanism by which a similar artistic community can arise in the United States.

What it reported doing in 2024

Otakorp, inc. Organized, produced, and presented its 2024 annual meeting. This 3-day educational and immersive festival of asian popular arts and culture, called otakon, includes panels, lectures, workshops, concerts, film and video presentations, and live appearances by those involved in the creation, production, and distribution of asian art and culture. We hosted over 46,000 attendees across the three days of the 2024 event. The event was supported by more than 850 volunteers. Aside from record-breaking attendance numbers, the 2024 meeting also celebrated the 30th anniversary of this event. Otakon is one of the largest events of its type in the united states and has been our primary event since the founding of the corporation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.5%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 83.3%; rating input score 83
  • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.5%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 68.5% of revenue deployed · 83.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 230 of 230 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 21 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.