The Greater St Louis Arts and Education Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
430790672
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
St Louis, MO, USA
Phone
3149617600
Rating
53
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Council/Agency

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$218,462
Expenses
$534,516
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

People named in this filing

  • CHRIS DORNFELD (CHAIR)
  • SHEILA BURKETT (DIRECTOR)
  • MARGARET MCDONALD (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See schedule o.the greater st. Louis arts and education council (the arts and education council or the council) was the st. Louis region's only united arts fund that pooled together donations from individuals, foundations and corporations to invest in people, organizations and programs that supported art happening across the st. Louis bi-state region. Since its founding in 1963, the council has raised and distributed more than $100 million for the arts and arts education in the st. Louis region community.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule o.includes indirect expenditures which are necessary to maintain the council's support of the arts and provide arts-related information to the public. These include the council's quarterly produced happenings newsletter, a weekly e-blast which promotes upcoming arts programs and events including free arts programs for the community. The council's website promotes the council and its programs. The council annually produces the st. Louis arts awards, the area's highly anticipated and preeminent event honoring individuals, organizations and businesses who achieve a legacy of artistic excellence and enrich st. Louis' arts and cultural community. Since 1992, the arts awards have honored more than 190 individuals, organizations and businesses who have contributed to the vibrancy of our community. The annual event celebrates and connects our arts community, further strengthening awareness and appreciation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 63% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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: 36
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.3%; rating input score 48
  • Program expense ratio: 19%; rating input score 19
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 86.7%; rating input score 87; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 50.7%; rating input score 51; 43rd 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -144.7%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.8% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.3% of revenue deployed · 19% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $101K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 26 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 48/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 51/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.