The Blue Room Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853390155
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Memphis, TN, USA
Phone
9012100116
Rating
45
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Camps

Reported finances

Revenue
$85,844
Expenses
$96,364
Assets
$503,336
Liabilities
$506,379

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEREK PATTERSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LISA OPOKU (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEREK PATTERSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $97,329 total reported compensation
  • AMY KEITH (CFO): $46,265 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 organization's mission is to provide education in the arts to young adults and to support artists generally, particularly those from an underpriveleged or low-income background or who would otherwise face hardship or barriers to entry in pursuing art and art education or in entering the art world.

What it reported doing in 2025

The contemporary arts fellowship program, the foundation's main activity, provides goods and services to individuals. This program provides a full scholarship to all of its summer fellows and includes all fees for instruction, lodging, food, supplies, and travel. The program covers all out-of-pocket expenses.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 94% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.3%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.22; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.01; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -98% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -87.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $97K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.