Public Space One

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464168572
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2018, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Iowa City, IA, USA
Phone
3198551985
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Reported finances

Revenue
$500,276
Expenses
$397,226
Assets
$2,007,239
Liabilities
$1,023,656

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN ENGELBRECHT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN ENGELBRECHT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $32,880 total reported compensation
  • KALMIA STRONG (PROGRAM DIRECTOR): $32,880 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Artist-led, community-driven, contemporary art center.

What it reported doing in 2025

See Schedule O

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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 97.6%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $150.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.6%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.05; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.6%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.4% of revenue deployed · 97.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $388K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $33K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.