Theatre Aspen

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742319032
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Aspen, CO, USA
Phone
9709259313
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,746,329
Expenses
$5,174,798
Assets
$2,448,783
Liabilities
$225,308

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JED BERNSTEIN (PRODUCING DIRECTOR): $279,397 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL RADERSTORF (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER): $150,701 total reported compensation
  • BRITT MARDEN (DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PLANNING): $149,196 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Entertain, enlighten, enrich, educate and challenge the residents and visitors of the roaring fork valley through professional quality theatrical productions, new play development initiatives and a broad spectrum of educational programs.

What it reported doing in 2025

Provide theatrical eductation programs to children and adults of the roaring fork valley.

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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 91.5%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $23.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.9%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.2%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.4% of revenue deployed · 91.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 32 of 32 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $279K · 35 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.