Sonoma Arts Live
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 271895518
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2013
- Location
- Sonoma, CA, USA
- Phone
- 7073638721
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Theater
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $387,782
- Expenses
- $375,732
- Assets
- $68,396
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Libby Oberlin (Vice President)
- Sue Martin (President)
Highest reported compensation
- Jaime Love (Artistic Dir): $72,000 total reported compensation
- Libby Oberlin (Vice President): $7,450 total reported compensation
- Sue Martin (President): $3,325 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The creation of a dedicated theatre space in Sonoma Valley and to foster community support for the performing arts.
What it reported doing in 2024
In 2024, Sonoma Arts Live presented a season of theatrical productions (4 musicals, 2 plays) in Andrews Hall at the Sonoma Community Center. In February, the company also produced a "Valentine's with the GALentines" event featuring local theater professionals returning to the SAL stage. The company's production of "Hello Girls", about telephone operators in WW1, engaged local veteran organizations and culminated in the dedication ceremony of a new gravestone for Juliette Courtial Smith, a real-life "Hello Girl" buried in Sonoma. Our summer production of "The Prom" included outreach to local LGBTQ+ youth groups. The company continued to offer discount ticket options to local non-profits and welcomed patrons bussed from local senior living facilities to a Sunday matine performance of each production. Outreach also included free admission to preview performances for local youth and caregiver groups. It is estimated that roughly 6,500 patrons attended Sonoma Arts Live events in 2024.
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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 63
- Sustainability: 36
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.2%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 84.2%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 11
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.1%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 22%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83.2% of revenue deployed · 84.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $317K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.