Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 050319134
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Newport, RI, USA
- Phone
- 4018461133
- Rating
- 68
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Music
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,349,943
- Expenses
- $1,801,716
- Assets
- $3,858,050
- Liabilities
- $470,170
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SUZANNA LARAMEE (PRESIDENT)
- STEPHEN HUTTLER (VICE PRESIDENT)
- ERIC GERSHMAN (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- GILLIAN FOX (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (UNTIL JULY 2025))
Highest reported compensation
- GILLIAN FOX (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (UNTIL JULY 2025)): $192,518 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 celebrate classical music as a living art form through inspiring concerts in intimate and historic locations.
What it reported doing in 2024
The 2024/25 season was the third year of year-round programming presented both at the newport classical recital hall and neighborhood-centered locations around aquidneck island. Newport classical is proud to be an essential pillar of Rhode Island's cultural landscape, contributing to the prosperity and vibrancy of its community all year long through its four core initiatives - the one-of-a-kind music festival; the chamber series in the newport classical recital hall; the free, family-friendly community concerts series; and the music education and engagement initiative that inspires students in local schools to become the arts advocates and music lovers of tomorrow. The season included 53 concerts and attracted nearly 11,500 patrons.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 67% 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 45
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 66
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 46.2%; rating input score 46
- Program expense ratio: 54.9%; rating input score 55
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 23.3%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.14; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 24% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 46.2% of revenue deployed · 54.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $990K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $193K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 46/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 55/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.