Summit Artspace

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341841587
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Akron, OH, USA
Phone
3303768480
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$681,420
Expenses
$625,036
Assets
$499,995
Liabilities
$32,295

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KRISTEN DOWEY (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • HEATHER MEEKER (EXEC. DIR.,R): $72,449 total reported compensation
  • NATALIE GRIESHAMMER-PATRICK (EXECUTIVE DI): $2,876 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Summit artspace connects artists and artist-serving organizations to the community and to the resources they need to thrive professionally, creatively, and financially. Its core values of creativity, collaboration, and community guide the current strategic plan, which focuses on six key priority areas: 1) supporting artists at all levels of their creative journey, 2) encouraging participation in the arts through education and outreach, 3) serving as a vital creative resource for the community, 4) increasing awareness and visibility throughout the community, 5) building financial sustainability through revenue growth and 6) diversifying artists we serve. Additionally, summit artspace seeks to build public awareness concerning the value of artists as contributors to our area's creative economy, quality of life, and place-making for those that live, work or go to school in summit and contiguous counties.

What it reported doing in 2024

Programs to assist artists with wraparound care and professional skills are an important opportunity for summit artspace to implement the akron cultural plan across multiple priorities, including talent development. A signature offering is its artist care programs (artist launchpad, professional practice, and one-to-one), which provide entrepreneurial and skill building sessions from local artists and content experts to support artists as they develop their practices. Participating artists represent multiple mediums including theatre, dance and visual art. Programs are offered on a sliding scale, and most offer scholarships to participants who require financial support. Summit artspace collaborates with local artists and arts/culture organizations to offer rehearsal, meeting, instruction and space at an in-kind or reduced rate. Summit artspace also provides fiscal sponsorship for artist-centered projects.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 55% for direct work, and 45% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.3%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 71%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 81.3%; rating input score 81; 35th 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: 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: 8.3%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.8; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.3% of revenue deployed · 71% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $444K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.