The Muses Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
260225045
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Hot Springs, AR, USA
Phone
5016099811
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Reported finances

Revenue
$383,799
Expenses
$332,916
Assets
$687,237
Liabilities
$2,847

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Deleen Davidson (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Deleen Davidson (President): $65,000 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 Muses is a charitable arts organization dedicated to preserving classical art and music through performance and education. The Muses' vision is to inspire, educate, heal, and delight their audience and participants by providing diverse expressions of classical art and education enrichment opportunities to all of the citizens of Arkansas.The organization creates new productions, using classical elements and highly-trained professional performers, in mentoring roles with students and young artists, to inspire audiences and generate interest in, and support for, the classical arts.

What it reported doing in 2024

This year the Muses presented 32 multi-arts productions These productions are based out of the Muses Cultural Arts Center in Hot Springs, and then toured throughout the region. Each performance is designed to personally enrich participants through direct encounters with the Arts, and inspire excellence and creativity in everyday life.Through the educational outreach The Muses interface regularly with high school and college students, as well as life-long learners (ranging in age from 15 90), providing them with teaching, mentoring and performance opportunities. These artistic encounters are designed to activate a sense of purpose and value, and to strengthen life skills such as, communication, cooperation, commitment, discipline, and teamwork.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 66
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.3%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 74.4%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $38.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.3%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.06; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.3% of revenue deployed · 74.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $248K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $65K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.