Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
251469002
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, US
Phone
412-471-6070
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$83,839,335
Expenses
$84,084,887
Assets
$243,417,757
Liabilities
$30,698,213

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

Leadership & pay

52 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KENDRA WHITLOCK INGRAM (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
  • RONA NESBIT (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KENDRA WHITLOCK INGRAM (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $775,504 total reported compensation
  • RONA NESBIT (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $506,333 total reported compensation
  • NICK GIGANTE (VP OF DEVELOPMENT): $408,313 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's mission is to lead the cultural and economic revitalization of downtown Pittsburgh through the arts, creating a vibrant district where people live, work, and gather.

What it reported doing in 2024

Arts education, engagement, and service: the trust engages with hundreds of educators and thousands of students annually through special student performances, workshops, classes, and other programs that take place in the cultural district and throughout the region. Community engagement initiatives are designed to reach and engage diverse communities, creating meaningful arts experiences. The trust is also a leader in collaboration among arts organizations, increasing efficiencies and decreasing costs for partner organizations through its shared services program and tessitura consortium management.see schedule o for continuationfurther, the trust helps arts organizations with highly subsidized rates for performances/office space, allowing them to invest more resources into their core artistic missions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 73% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.4%; rating input score 97; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.3%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.89; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 92.9% of revenue deployed · 90.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 38 of 39 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $76.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $776K · 52 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.6M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.