San Diego Theatres Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
141886373
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
6196154043
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,831,674
Expenses
$11,900,739
Assets
$29,264,118
Liabilities
$9,607,781

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CAROL WALLACE (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAROL WALLACE (President & CEO): $293,520 total reported compensation
  • KELLY BARGABOS (CFO): $198,429 total reported compensation
  • BRENDAN FARLEY (VP OF OPERATIONS): $180,423 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

San Diego Theatres, Inc. (SDTI) is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation established to manage and operate publicly owned performing arts theatres. SDTI was established in 2003 by the San Diego Convention Center Corporation (SDCCC), as an operating unit of SDCCC. In 2012, SDTI became a free-standing, non-profit public benefit corporation under amended and restated Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. SDTI markets, operates, and maintains the Civic Theatre and the Balboa Theatre.The Civic Theatre was constructed by the City of San Diego (City) on land owned by the City and includes a 2,967-seat performing arts theatre as well as a central HVAC plant (Central Power). The Civic Theatre is operated by SDTI under terms of a 50-year lease agreement with the City (Note 9).THE BALBOA THEATRE IS 1,339-SEAT PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE OWNED BY THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, AND WAS RE-OPENED IN JANUARY 2008 FOLLOWING A $26.5 MILLION RESTORATION AND REHABILITATION. SDTI OPERATES THE BALBOA THEATRE UND

What it reported doing in 2024

The civic theatre is san diego's highest attended performing arts venue in san diego. It is the performing home to broadway san diego, a nederlander presentation, as well as the san diego opera. Beyond its own series of self-presented events, its venues also showcase highly regarded music artists and comedians through partnerships with other presenters such as goldenvoice, aeg, live nation, outback presents and nederlander concerts. The theatre hosts a diverse schedule of cultural, theatrical and musical productions as well as formal assemblies, meetings, and community gatherings. The historic balboa theatre hosts diverse programming that serves a wide range of community interests. In addition to such popular contemporary entertainment as comedians and concerts, the balboa theatre is extensively used by such local non-profit organizations as classics 4 kids, golden state ballet, la jolla music society, san diego ballet, our lady of peace and san diego gay men's chorus.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 94% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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. Reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.1%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.46; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.3%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.1% of revenue deployed · 73.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $294K · 27 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $197K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.