Refracted Theatre Company

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843090225
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3122860026
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Reported finances

Revenue
$143,935
Expenses
$115,038
Assets
$65,668
Liabilities
$3,000

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARLA MENDELSON (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • MARLA MENDELSON (PRESIDENT)
  • JONATHAN HATTENBACH (TREASURER)
  • KAYLA WILLIAMSON (CO-FOUNDER, SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Refracted theatre company creates innovative theater to sponsor curiosity andempathic discourse around divisive issues. In doing so refracted generates a spectrum ofcolorful complexity around issues and stories you thought you knew.

What it reported doing in 2025

Mainstage production: dream hou$e by eliana pipes and the shortlist festival: refracted's planned production of dream hou$e explored gentrification, cultural inheritance, and the cost of progress through the story of two sisters navigating the sale of their family home. The production was cancelled before its 6-week run in september/october of 2026 (which would have included 24 performances). The shortlist festival (2025): the shortlist was a free, pay-what-you-can festival of workshops and staged readings that invited audiences into refracted's season-building process while celebrating chicago artists and supporting immigrant communities through fundraising for icirr.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.7%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 83.4%; rating input score 83

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.1%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.9% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.7% of revenue deployed · 83.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $96K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.