The Center for Documentary Studies

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561655039
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Durham, NC, USA
Phone
9196603663
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,254,249
Expenses
$4,107,359
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • EDWARD J BALLEISEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • OPEYEMI OLUKEMI (PART YEAR PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARY FRANCES LUCE (DIRECTOR): $1,158,516 total reported compensation
  • MOHAMED NOOR (DIRECTOR): $732,149 total reported compensation
  • CHRIS SIMMONS (DIRECTOR): $554,206 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Support, promote, and develop the discipline of documentary studies in connection with the academic programs at duke university.

What it reported doing in 2023

The center for documentary studies cofounded duke university's first master of fine arts program, the master of fine arts in experimental and documentary arts (mfa/eda) program, which brings together the documentary approach and experimental production in analog, digital, and computational media. This unique two-year program fosters collaborations across disciplines and media as it trains sophisticated creative art practitioners.the center for documentary studies offers a wide range (up to a hundred annually) of onsite and online courses, summer intensive institutes and short workshops for adults who are interested in doing their own documentary work, whether starting a first project of refining an existing one. Most classes are offered during the evening or on weekends to accommodate the schedules of working adults. These hands-on courses, available via open admission and with reasonable fees, involve instruction in photography, video, audio, writing, and other creative media. Special topics integral to conducting and presenting documentary work are convered, such as documentary traditions, techniques, fieldwork, theory, and ethics.

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 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 37
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 66%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 99.1%; rating input score 99; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 36.4%; rating input score 36; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.5%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 66% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 14 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 58 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.