Riverartsfest Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 454274813
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Memphis, TN, USA
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $300,641
- Expenses
- $463,371
- Assets
- $431,474
- Liabilities
- $8,172
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
People named in this filing
- CHUCK MITCHELL (BOARD MEMBER)
- ANGELA LESS (BOARD MEMBER)
- CAROL WATKINS (BOARD MEMBER)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Create access to a broad array of art experiences, nurture the development and understanding of diverse art forms, and encourage the expanding depth of cultural life in the city of memphis.
What it reported doing in 2025
Riverartsfest is held each year in downtown memphis tn south main district and is a two and a half day street celebration of the visual, performing, and culinary arts with attractions and activities for all ages. There are over 175 artists from around the country that gather to exhibit and sell their works of original fine arts in what has become the largest outdoor juried artist market and urban street festival in the region.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 85% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 86
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 25
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 90.6%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 10th 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: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -54.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.93; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $420K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 15 of 16 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2013 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.