The Civilians Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 113621605
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7182303330
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Performing Arts Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $938,486
- Expenses
- $954,613
- Assets
- $610,828
- Liabilities
- $60,749
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- Steve Cosson (Artistic Dir.): $89,289 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To create original projects involving theater, cabaret and music, taking them from investigations into real life.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Civilians' 2024-25 season engaged 5,007 audience members across all programs, employed 207 artists and collaborators, and reached an additional 60,000+ through Spotify and Extended Play, the company's online journal.Mainstage productions included the world premiere of SEX VARIANTS OF 1941, a multidisciplinary musical adapted from the 1940s medical study of the same name, featuring interviews with LGBTQIAP+ Americans from the 1930s, at NYU's Skirball Center and Radio Downtown: Radical '70s Artists Live On Air at 59E59 Theaters, a verbatim play drawn from WNYC interviews with avant-garde artists exploring the transformative potential of live performance.New work development advanced on several fronts: Martha Redbone's LISTEN WHEN THE ELDERS SPEAK continued development through a residency at Ancram Center for the Arts; THE GULF by Steve Cosson received a staged reading and The Next Forever environmental theater initiative, in partnership with Princeton University, awarded new commissions to Kate Douglas and Kate Tarker. The R&D Group completed its 15th year with 6 members culminating in the FINDINGS Reading Series, which engaged 220 attendees and 45 artists.
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 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.3%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 81.9%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st 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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83.3% of revenue deployed · 81.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $782K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $89K · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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 21/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.