Secret Knowledge

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464364813
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2013–2018
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5034828255
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,083
Expenses
$3,667
Assets
$620
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Noah Kleiman (Founding Director / Board President/ Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Noah Kleiman (Founding Director / Board President/ Executive Director)
  • Travis McGee (Board Secretary)
  • Ethan Parker (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Secret Knowledge offers educational programming to the public. Formed in 2013 amid rapid city growth and looming gentrification, Secret Knowledge works to transform the world around us into a more equitable place where creative people from diverse backgrounds are empowered to lead fulfilling lives and succeed on their own terms. We believe that investing directly in education to support artists, musicians, and creative workers in their struggle to grow their working livelihoods is the very best way support arts & culture in our region. Creative people can grow WITH cities. Secret Knowledge offers classes, workshops, and cultural programming designed to educate attendees; hosts an annual conference, The Secret Knowledge Conference, which brings together creative workers for community connection and professional training; and develops innovative programming to help empower creative adults throughout the year. Creative business education is something people need. Talent alone isn't enough.

What it reported doing in 2018

2018 Secret Knowledge Conference - In November of 2018 we offered an all day free career skills conference for working artists and musicians. Registration was capped at 100 and we had 100 registrants. 60 people ultimately attended on the day of the conference (due to unusually sunny weather). Attendees reported it was transformative and made a big difference in their professional lives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.4%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 68.4%; rating input score 68

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.2%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.2% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 25% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.7% per year; rating input score 0; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.4% of revenue deployed · 68.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2013 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.