Stages St Louis

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431434156
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Chesterfield, MO, USA
Phone
6365305959
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,288,405
Expenses
$6,479,744
Assets
$5,228,983
Liabilities
$4,850,135

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEAN P ERHARDT (PRESIDENT)
  • KELLY AINSWORTH (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LYNNE TURLEY (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREW KUHLMAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER): $121,440 total reported compensation
  • GAYLE SEAY (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $121,440 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Stages st. Louis is committed to creating unforgettable theatre through one-of-a-kind productions, inclusive stories, and education.

What it reported doing in 2025

Program 2 performing arts academyestablished in 2004, the stages performing arts academy (spaa) provides comprehensive performing arts education and outreach opportunities for students throughout the st. Louis area. As the only local performing arts academy affiliated with a professional theatre company, spaa offers a unique, high-quality learning experience.spaa programs serve more than 6,000 students and community members annually, including over 2,500 students who receive direct classroom instruction. The academy is committed to accessibility and equity, ensuring that no student is denied participation due to financial constraints. To support this mission, spaa provides more than $15,000 each year in scholarships and program subsidies.

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.
  • 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.1%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 83.3%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 11.1%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.93; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.1% of revenue deployed · 83.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 25 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $527K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.