The Art Experience Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383373601
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Pontiac, MI, USA
Phone
2487063304
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$253,674
Expenses
$252,137
Assets
$191,932
Liabilities
$45

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Elizabeth McLachlan (Executive Director)
  • Audra Pieknik (Executive Director)
  • Lori Brauer (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Elizabeth McLachlan (Executive Director): $25,900 total reported compensation
  • Audra Pieknik (Executive Director): $15,095 total reported compensation
  • Lori Brauer (President): $4,800 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Art Experiences mission is improving lives through the arts by fostering creativity, healing, and connection through inclusive, barrier-free programs that are accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Our Art Therapy program provides individual and group sessions led by licensed art therapists, grounded in evidence-based practice. We serve people of all ages, with a focus on youth with disabilities, individuals experiencing homelessness, survivors of violence, military veterans, and others navigating trauma or life transitions. Through accessible, creative experiences, participants discover new ways to express themselves, develop coping skills, and strengthen emotional resilience in a safe and inclusive setting. The Art Experience is committed to reducing barriers through sliding-scale fees and partnerships that make therapeutic art accessible to those most in need.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 70% 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.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.6%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.9% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $203K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $26K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.