The Laguna Playhouse

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951509841
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Laguna Beach, CA, USA
Phone
9494972787
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,352,173
Expenses
$6,579,178
Assets
$5,181,657
Liabilities
$2,992,666

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID ELLENSTEIN (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $165,000 total reported compensation
  • BILL KERLIN (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $160,000 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL MURPHY (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $150,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The laguna playhouse's mission is to enrich lives through the magic of live theatre, to provide educational opportunities for children and adults, and to create experiences that stimulate cultural and social interaction and inspire our community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth education programs:-conservatory: offering comprehensive, after school, year-long theatre training in a professional setting for talented, aspiring young actors, ages 10-18. Scholarships are available for low-income youth. -youth theatre: a nationally recognized series of fully-staged productions of popular stories for family audiences.-theatre for a new generation: offers provocative, issue-oriented dramas aimed at teens, parents and educators.-spring/summer workshops: offers youth hands-on experimental learning with theatre professionals-outreach program: theatrereach bringing books to life is an educational outreach program that supports literacy by performing plays adapted from required books in the California state curriculum and bussing them into the playhouse for a professional theattrical experience. It serves over 10,000 elementary school students in southern California each year. Theatrereach is the only in school performing arts program that addresses California state history and literature content standards for grades k-6.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 67% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.

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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.3%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -22.9%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.79; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $165K · 19 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $111K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.