Seattle Center Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911003385
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2066847345
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,787,762
Expenses
$2,229,965
Assets
$28,725,664
Liabilities
$25,580,391

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Matt Hana (President)
  • Maria Barrientos (Vice President)
  • Rob Johnson (Executive Director, Member (former))
  • Jane Zalutsky (Executive Director (former))

Highest reported compensation

  • Jane Zalutsky (Executive Director (former)): $252,379 total reported compensation
  • Margaret Bellefuil (Operations Manager): $112,699 total reported compensation
  • Francisca-Mae Schwarz (Project Director): $106,864 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Seattle Center Foundation supports the vision and purpose of Seattle Center by advocating for public support and private dollars for major capital and program improvements.

What it reported doing in 2025

Events: Seattle Center Festal celebrates 25 free cultural festivals over 36 program days throughout the year, that run February through November. The Festal series showcases the heritage and richness of hundreds of cultural communities with live music, dance, vendor marketplaces, visual art, food, exhibits, hands-on activities, and more. Produced in partnership with community-based organizations, the 2025 Festal season was a record-breaking attendance year with over 400,000 people in attendance, and it is expected to continue trending in 2026.In 2025, Seattle Center hosted the 40th Annual Naturalization Ceremony for over 500 candidates taking the oath as new citizens. The ceremony was presided by The Honorable David G. Estudillo, Chief United States District Judge for the Western District Court of Washington. Currently, planning is underway for the 2026 ceremony and there will be 250 candidates being sworn in, which ties into America's 250th.Seattle Center Winterfest presented by Symetra offers five weeks of uplifting seasonal spirit and delightful diversion, including seasonal decor, ice sculpting, our Winter Train & Village, weekend entertainment on the Armory Stage, and a New Year's Eve Celebration. 2025 boasted 600,000 attendees, 33,000 patrons who engaged with the train, 25 live performances attended by nearly 5000 people, and a New Years Eve Celebration that served 35,000 patrons.

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 95% 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

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.2%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 74.2%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th 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: 85.2%; rating input score 85; 40th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -24.7%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.88; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.89; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.4%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.2% of revenue deployed · 74.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $252K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $111K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.