American Theatre Guild

Legal name: The American Theatre Guild

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471552222
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Kansas City, MO, US
Phone
816.421.7500
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$32,265,294
Expenses
$30,673,530
Assets
$39,835,814
Liabilities
$19,726,188

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMY HAMM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • BRETT COONROD (PRESIDENT)
  • COURTNEY MCSHANNON (TREASURER/VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMY HAMM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $432,557 total reported compensation
  • BETHANY NESBIT (VP OF MARKETING): $179,965 total reported compensation
  • BELINDA TUDOR (SR DIRECTOR, FINANCE): $166,453 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 American Theatre Guild is committed to supporting a culture of inclusion in which everyone feels welcomed, respected, and valued. We believe that the performing arts can unite us and have an impact on the cultural vibrancy of our communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Staging the future is a program created to enable under-served young people to experience live musical theater. Non-profit organizations which focus on assisting children and title i schools are eligible to participate in the program. The program is fully funded by the generosity of american theatre guild season members. We are committed to providing the magic of live musical theater to all children, despite economic disadvantage or disability. Atg strives to give students and educators a complete experience with post show talk backs and meet-and-greet sessions with cast members. Atg also provides educational materials to enhance the show experience.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 95% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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: 98.4%; rating input score 98; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 21st 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: 4.9%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.3; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 79.7% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $25.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $433K · 14 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $9.7M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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 1/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.