Playhouse Square
Legal name: Playhouse Square Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237304942
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Cleveland, OH, US
- Phone
- (216) 771-4444
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Performing Arts Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $89,145,681
- Expenses
- $94,110,216
- Assets
- $342,994,161
- Liabilities
- $128,257,765
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
69 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Craig Hassall (President/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Craig Hassall (President/CEO): $892,385 total reported compensation
- Patricia Gaul (Interim COO (until 6/25)): $586,669 total reported compensation
- Michelle Ryan Stewart (Senior VP Development): $400,871 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To be a leader in placemaking, the advancement of arts education, and the presentation and production of performing arts experiences.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Foundation's purpose is to operate and sustain on a financially viable basis a performing arts center presenting and producing works of artistic excellence for the benefit of all citizens. The Foundation presented 1,208 performances in Fiscal Year 25, which were attended by approximately 1.1 million guests. Approximately 60,000 students and teachers attended Children's theater performances. The Foundation has over 12 performance stages with a capacity of nearly 10,000.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 80% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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: 90
- Accountability: 99
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 95.3%; rating input score 95
- Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 98.3%; rating input score 98; 54th 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: -5.6%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.64; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 95.3% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 59 of 60 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $83.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $892K · 69 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.1M reported
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 16 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.