San Francisco Performances Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942600147
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4153986449
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,878,184
Expenses
$2,457,925
Assets
$7,247,288
Liabilities
$1,424,981

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Melanie Smith (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Melanie Smith (President): $163,898 total reported compensation
  • Michele Casau (Development Dir): $110,326 total reported compensation
  • Christian Jessen (Finance Dir): $19,226 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

SFP presents internationally acclaimed and emerging performing artists, introduces innovative programs, and builds new and diversified audiences for the arts through education and outreach activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Debuts include cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, pianists Evgeny Kissin, Andrs Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida and Ivo Pogorelich, soprano Dawn Upshaw, violinist Gidon Kremer, violist Yuri Bashmet, and bassist Edgar Meyer, to name just a few. Important San Francisco debuts in dance include the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Ballet Preljocaj from France, Sweden's Cullberg Ballet and Batsheva from Israel.The unique multi-year Artists-in-Residence programs sustain an ongoing presence in various Bay Area communities. The Alexander String Quartet -for nearly three decades our String Quartet-in-Residence in association with San Francisco State University -established innovative chamber music studies for high school students and created an inspiring Saturday morning series with lectures by Robert Greenberg for adults.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.
  • 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 76.5%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: 14.6%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.95; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 76.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $164K · 18 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.