Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133167013
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
2134812273
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,663,691
Expenses
$1,828,218
Assets
$13,019,739
Liabilities
$12,081,077

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • BEN DONENBERG (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $120,345 total reported compensation
  • AMANDA SUSSKIND (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $119,538 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 enchant, enrich, and build community through professional theatrical traditions that are interpretively, geographically, and economically accessible to all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Scla's main stage are professional, fully-staged indoor and outdoor productions and staged readings. Main stage programming incorporates veterans in art, which hires military veterans to fill technical theater positions to support the presentation of main stage productions and staged readings. These jobs may include design, performance, productions crews, marketing, and front of house while other veterans' programming includes performance and workshops. Veterans in art also provides free tickets to veterans for scla's performances. Additional programming activity includes public programming offsite at partner locations and development of new plays for future main stage productions. Scla participates in active community outreach and engagement, and delivers arts education to students and professional development for teachers.

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.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -9.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.12; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.93; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.1%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.9% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $120K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.