The Little Theatre - on the Square Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
371097182
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Sullivan, IL, USA
Phone
2177282065
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,644,656
Expenses
$1,909,841
Assets
$1,059,501
Liabilities
$1,162,620

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVE BENEFIEL (PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL SEITZ (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN STEPHENS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER): $135,138 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Not-for-profit theatre devoted to enriching the lives of the community by offering high quality performing arts, education, and outreach programming.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the fiscal year ending 10/31/2025, the theatre operated 13 productions for a total of 123 performances. Total attendance for all the productions was approximately 31,300.

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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.8%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 77.3%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.8%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.55; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.1; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.1%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -27% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.8% of revenue deployed · 77.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $135K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.