The Circus Project
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 611557140
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2022
- Forms available
- Form 990 2022, Form 990-EZ 2012
- Location
- Portland, OR, USA
- Phone
- 5037649174
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Youth Development Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $523,351
- Expenses
- $965,709
- Assets
- $0
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NEL TAYLOR (BOARD PRESIDENT (1/1-8/2/22))
- HERTSEL SHADIAN (SECRETARY (1/1-8/2/22); PRESIDENT (8/3-PRESENT))
- KIRSTEN COLLINS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- DENIZ CONGER (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DENIZ CONGER (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $35,728 total reported compensation
- KIRSTEN COLLINS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $25,106 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The circus project offers circus arts education and performances that invite people with a variety of life experiences to grow as artists, individuals, and community members.
What it reported doing in 2022
Circus educationour education programs support circus artists from many walks of life. We provide a space and curriculum where every student can show up as their authentic self and learn to how to train with the discipline, safety, and creative presence of a professional circus artist. We do this through tuition-based classes and intensive training programs open to youth and adults from the general public, and through our pathways program, which increases access to the arts for students who wouldn't otherwise have these learning opportunities. Our programs are made accessible with a robust scholarship fund and an on-staff social worker to work with students and families... (continued on schedule o) to remove financial, logistical, and cultural barriers to participation. In order to offer safe training and performance space amidst the ongoing pandemic, we built a unique satellite outdoor venue, the domes.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 86
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 7
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 74.1%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $18.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: -84.5%; rating input score 2; 2nd 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: 6.3%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $716K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $36K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2015 to 2022
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.