The Wooster Group Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237022729
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2129669697
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,522,116
Expenses
$1,729,014
Assets
$1,714,679
Liabilities
$42,058

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATE VALK (PRESIDENT)
  • ELIZABETH LECOMPTE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATE VALK (PRESIDENT): $69,996 total reported compensation
  • CYNTHIA HEDSTROM (SECRETARY): $62,823 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH LECOMPTE (VICE PRESIDENT): $52,767 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 wooster group, inc.'s primary mission is the development of new and experimental forms of drama and the interplay of performing and visual arts.

What it reported doing in 2024

The wooster group, inc. Is a New York based theater company known worldwide for its ground-breaking experiments in theater performance. Under the direction of elizabeth lecompte, the group has made more than 40 works for theatre, dance, and media, including rumstick road (1977), l.d.s. (just the high points) (1984), house/lights (1999), to you, the birdie! (phedre) (2002), hamlet (2007), the town hall affair (2017), the b-side (2017), the mother (2021) and symphony of rats (2024). The group has toured internationally to europe, russia, north and south america, asia and australia. The performing garage at 33 wooster street is the group's permanent home. The organization owns and operates the garage as a shareholder in the grand street artists co-op, established as part of the fluxus art movement in the 1960's.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 62
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 75.9%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.6%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.99; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.9% of revenue deployed · 75.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $70K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.