Stapleton School of Performing Arts
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 680202381
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- San Anselmo, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4154545759
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Performing Arts Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,224,454
- Expenses
- $1,249,352
- Assets
- $1,561,977
- Liabilities
- $23,667
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Natalie Holles (President)
Highest reported compensation
- WILHELMINA FRANKFURT (Exec Art Dir): $129,388 total reported compensation
- Virginia Stapleton (FOUNDER): $13,173 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Instruction in the performing arts - dance and theater
What it reported doing in 2025
The organization continued its mission of providing accessible performing arts education through dance, theater, and outreach programs serving children, youth, and adults. During the year, approximately 450 students participated in the organization's programs. The organization maintained its scholarship assistance program, providing full and partial scholarships, tuition assistance, and flexible payment arrangements to ensure that financial hardship does not prevent participation in the performing arts. During the year, approximately 25 students received scholarship assistance with a total value of approximately $30,000.The dance program continued to provide year-round instruction for students ages 3 through 18 and produced two annual performance weekends in addition to a weekend of recitals. The theater program expanded its educational offerings by adding classes and presenting three weeks of theatrical performances during the year. The adult education program also continued to grow, offering weekly classes and expanding opportunities for adult participation in the performing arts.During the year, the organization launched the Opening Night Program, an outreach initiative designed to bring theater and dance education to schools without existing performing arts programs. Through this program, the organization conducted workshops and introductory classes at more than 10 schools and established relationships that resulted in partnerships with two schools for ongoing programming in the upcoming year. Students participating in Opening Night are invited to attend complimentary classes at the organization's facility, and students demonstrating exceptional interest or talent may be considered for scholarship assistance. The program expands access to arts education and creates pathways for underserved students to participate in ongoing performing arts training.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 90% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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
SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 37
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 73.5%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 71.6%; rating input score 72
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -2%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 73.5% of revenue deployed · 71.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $894K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $129K · 9 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.