Springboard for the Arts

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411690483
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6512924381
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,288,896
Expenses
$7,685,332
Assets
$15,842,463
Liabilities
$206,390

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SARAH SWEDBURG (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JARRETT REED (PRESIDENT)
  • LAURA ZABEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURA ZABEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $237,142 total reported compensation
  • JUN-LI WANG (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR): $164,888 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM PIERCE II (OPERATIONS AND FINANCE DIR): $139,929 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 cultivate vibrant arts communities by connecting artists with the skills, information and services they need to make a living and a life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Springboard for the arts' community development program creates pathways for artists to meaningfully connect with their communities to address shared challenges and opportunities such as environmental stewardship, economic justice, housing, and transportation. Building on springboard's long history of demonstrating how artists strengthen community well-being, the program supports projects that foster connection, joy, and civic imagination. This includes artists respond: weaving social connection, which commissions artists to build belonging and reduce social isolation through creative partnerships across Minnesota, and springboard on ice, which transforms our neighborhood ice rink into a space for performance, learning, and community celebration. The program also partners with neighborhood organizations to engage residents in envisioning the future of their communities. Through training, project support, and cross-sector collaborations, we position artists as civic partners and essential leaders in shaping more connected, equitable, and creative places across Minnesota.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 47% for direct work, and 53% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $43.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98%; rating input score 98; 34th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • 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 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.06; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $237K · 16 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 34 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 94 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 90 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.