Premier Arts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
351837569
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Elkhart, IN, USA
Phone
5749712787
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,213,478
Expenses
$4,935,810
Assets
$1,596,587
Liabilities
$1,733,989

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Craig Gibson (Executive Director)
  • Elizabeth Bond (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ashley Molyneux (Head of School): $101,100 total reported compensation
  • Craig Gibson (Executive Director): $93,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Premier Arts inspires imagination and develops the creative spirit of the community through performing arts education, entertainment, and integrated arts-based learning opportunities focused on youth, families, and lifelong learning. The organization promotes creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, confidence, character development, and civic pride.

What it reported doing in 2024

Premier Arts Academy utilizes the arts as a catalyst to provide a rigorous, project-based curriculum that blends academic achievement with artistic excellence, preparing students to become the next generation of creative leaders. The Academy is a free, chartered public school offering integrated arts and core academic learning.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 76% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.1%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 82.3%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $106.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17.1%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.09; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.1% of revenue deployed · 82.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $101K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.