Palm Beach Dramaworks Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
651040048
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
West Palm Beach, FL, USA
Phone
5615144042
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,812,708
Expenses
$4,395,005
Assets
$8,165,750
Liabilities
$617,734

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM HAYES (PROD. ART. D): $173,852 total reported compensation
  • SUE ELLEN BERYL (MANAGING DIR): $167,498 total reported compensation
  • RUDINA TORO (CFO & COO): $132,134 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Palm beach dramaworks is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in 2000 under the laws of the state of Florida. In accordance with its mission and vision, the organization believes in the transformative power of live theatre and is committed to presenting outstanding productions of classic, contemporary, and world premiere plays that entertain, enlighten, stimulate discussion, and illuminate our shared humanity. We are equally dedicated to creating new works and cultivating new audiences, upholding the original objectives of the regional theatre movement. We recognize and value the power of education, offering inspiring, life-changing programs for students, and thought-provoking initiatives for adults. Our performances are presented at the don & ann brown theatre, located in the heart of downtown west palm beach, at 201 clematis street.

What it reported doing in 2024

We are committed to providing strong, vibrant educational opportunities for students to nurture creativity, inspire artistic potential, build confidence and encourage self-expression. Approximately 25% of our efforts include: in-school master classes in acting and playwriting; special student matinee performances of our productions held at no charge for students from local area schools with transportation also provided; and free or reduced priced tickets to regularly scheduled performances for students and educators. Students also have the opportunity to audition and receive guidance from theatre professionals to polish audition techniques. Other educational programs include the young playwrights 10-minute & 1- minute play contests giving middle and high school students a creative voice in expressing their thoughts and ideas; the legacy project creating an annual lgbtq intergenerational digital storytelling project; and the one humanity tour, a school touring program for 6th,7th and 8th graders using drama to develop informed, thoughtful, and compassionate citizens. For the young playwright's 10-minute contest, plays were solicited from students at all palm beach county schools. 46 plays were submitted, and 10 were selected as "winners" to receive a staged reading of their play with professional actors and directors along with a 250.00 award and a published copy of their script. It was presented free of charge at the theatre and had 205 attendees.

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 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.3%; rating input score 91; 22nd 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.7%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.86; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.8%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $174K · 24 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.