Storyville Center for the Spoken Word Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133880953
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2127420551
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,254,087
Expenses
$12,287,137
Assets
$11,670,942
Liabilities
$4,163,343

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SARAH HABERMAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH HABERMAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $255,667 total reported compensation
  • LEE ANN GULLIE (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $212,076 total reported compensation
  • MARINA KLUTSE (CHIEF FINANCIAL AND ADMIN OFFICER): $206,459 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 organization is dedicated to connecting humanity through the power of personal storytelling. Our mission is to inspire people to listen and share openly, think and feel deeply, and expand their understanding of one another.

What it reported doing in 2024

Moth storyslamopen-mic storytelling events where anyone in the audience can put their name in a hat to tell a 5 minute story on a theme. The stories are judged by teams of audience members and the winner is determined at the end of the evening. In 2024 the slam series was produced in 26 cities nationwide plus london and melbourne, for a total of 436 shows and 4,360 stories.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.8%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: -9.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.95; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.8% of revenue deployed · 79.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $9.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $256K · 25 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $226K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.