San Francisco Ballet
Legal name: San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 942747262
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, US
- Phone
- 415 865 2000
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Management & Technical Assistance
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,556,521
- Expenses
- $11,455,755
- Assets
- $171,133,669
- Liabilities
- $988,781
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NANCY KUKACKA (PRESIDENT)
- JOHN S OSTERWEIS (PRESIDENT EMERITUS)
Highest reported compensation
- ROBERT H FORE III (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (THRU 12/24)): $359,875 total reported compensation
- CARMEN CREEL (SECRETARY): $116,288 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The san francisco ballet endowment foundation was established in 1980 and in 1981 made its first distribution to the san francisco ballet association (the association), a California nonprofit public benefit corporation. (see schedule o) since inception, strong investment returns and contributions, primarily from estates and from donors, have grown significantly and increased the importance of the endowment to the association's revenue stream. The foundation is incorporated as a separate nonprofit public benefit corporation for the purpose of holding and managing endowment funds for the benefit of the association. It seeks to provide the association with a reliable source of support while protecting its investments against inflation and wide swings in the capital markets so that the association may continue its mission to share the joy of dance with the widest possible audience in the community and around the globe.
What it reported doing in 2024
See schedule o
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Investment-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 95% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 90
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.5%; rating input score 99
- Program expense ratio: 94.3%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 30.8%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.94; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 98.5% of revenue deployed · 94.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $360K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $172K reported
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.