San Francisco Playhouse

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861089699
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4156779596
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,657,571
Expenses
$6,398,985
Assets
$2,079,495
Liabilities
$1,225,508

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BILL ADLER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • BILL ENGLISH (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $120,000 total reported compensation
  • SUSI DAMILANO (SECRETARY): $120,000 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 share stories that uplift our spirits deepen self-awareness and nurture compassionate community.

What it reported doing in 2024

In fiscal year 2024 our strategic investment in celebrating our 20th season with large-scale impressive productions yielded positive results. Subscription sales continued to grow and we exceeded budget projections for both earned and contributed revenue. Operating expenses remained aligned with budget targets. The organization experienced a slight deficit due to the timing of an anticipated Employee Retention Credit ERC refund of $425,000 which was budgeted for FY24 but received in FY25. Despite implementing a mid-year ticket and subscription price increase sales momentum remained strong demonstrating audience loyalty and market demand. The organization continued its record of critical acclaim earning the most Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nominations and awards. The season concluded with a highly successful production of Evita which drove subscription sales to an all-time high of approximately 3,200 subscribers. Early indicators for FY25 show earned revenue significantly exceeding budget projections positioning the organization for a strong financial year ahead.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 1st 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: 91.3%; rating input score 91; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.9%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.59; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.4% of revenue deployed · 73.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 23 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $120K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 44 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 23/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX AllOtherExpenses column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.