The Prodigy Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463642012
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2065425005
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$295,991
Expenses
$225,442
Assets
$293,569
Liabilities
$62,941

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICHARD STEVENSON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MAXIMILIAN LOSEE (VICE PRESIDE): $26,604 total reported compensation
  • RICHARD STEVENSON (PRESIDENT): $18,000 total reported compensation
  • HAILEY MOTSENBOCKER (SECRETARY): $6,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Prodigy project is about bringing together the best and the brightest teen artists in storytelling (film and music)and 1)giving them very high level training with top mentors, 2)imbuing them with a sense of social responsibility for their talent, 3)sharpening their moral compass, 4)helping them find their artistic voice, and 5)building a community or a complex whole, greater than the sum of its parts. The prodigy project's mission to "influence future influencers" is continually being realized as more than 200 alumni have gone on to be accepted at the top film schools, to work on major hollywood films, to be signed by major record labels, and to create more authentic media that influences thousands worldwide.

What it reported doing in 2024

Prodigy camp: the prodigy camp is a week-long intensive camp for the most promising young filmmakers and songwriters from around the world between the ages of 13 and 18. The camp creates a space dedicated to helping aspiring young artists explore and develop the art of storytelling through filmmaking and songwriting. Filmmakers and musicians alike hone in on the fundamentals of their art, absorb hours of mentoring and instruction, develop new scripts and songs, and dive deep into understanding their own personal story and journey. At the end of the week, the film students are faced with the challenge of executing all their newly formed and fine-tuned skills by shooting their own short film, while the songwriters are given the opportunity to professionally record one of their newly written songs. This program is intended to provide gifted individuals with the professional, emotional, and moral tools to make a positive impact on the world and to support their artistic and emotional development. Prodigy alumni continuing education: in addition to the camp, individuals will also be eligible to participate in prodigy alumni continuing education if they have participated in previous prodigy/production camps. These activities include film screenings, critiques, acting classes, songwriting workshops, personal story "campfires", alumni networking dinners, and real-world editing experience projects. These activities are conducted as funds and volunteer staff are available to facilitate. Prodigy alumni continuing education is intended to foster post-camp community and support and to continue to help students develop their skills as storytellers. The organization currently offers these activities and events free of charge to all camp alumni.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% 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.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 41
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 24
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 33.9%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 44.5%; rating input score 44
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th 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: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 11
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.8%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.3; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.5%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 33.9% of revenue deployed · 44.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $100K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $27K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.