South Jersey Cultural Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 223144933
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Oceanville, NJ, United States
- Phone
- 609-833-7380
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alliance/Advocacy Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $349,373
- Expenses
- $323,839
- Assets
- $320,134
- Liabilities
- $20,768
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Kahra Buss (President)
- Debbie Shapiro (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Julie Hain (Executive Dir.): $88,100 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
SJCA serves as the regional Service Organizations and connector for South Jersey’s cultural community. We bring together artists, nonprofit leaders, creative businesses, funders, and community partners to share resources, build collaboration, and strengthen the field. We ensure South Jersey’s cultural sector is visible, both locally and statewide, to ensure the region’s unique character and interests are represented in funding, planning, and advocacy conversations.
What it reported doing in 2024
South Jersey Cultural Alliance (SJCA) connects, empowers, and advocates for artists, communities, and organizations to foster engagement and investment in the arts and history across South Jersey. SJCA achieves its mission by facilitating connections among artists, organizations, funders, and creative practitioners, enabling resource-sharing, and promoting equitable opportunities. The organization also raises awareness of the rich cultural offerings available to residents and visitors and demonstrates the arts' positive impact on collective well-being and economic prosperity.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 82% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 61
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.8%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 65.5%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- 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: 7.3%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.99; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 27.2%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 60.8% of revenue deployed · 65.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $212K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.