Theatre for Children Inc Dba B Street Theatre

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954047805
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9164435391
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,885,832
Expenses
$5,198,687
Assets
$24,088,299
Liabilities
$15,906,933

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIN MOOS-RALLENS (PRESIDENT)
  • MARISA MEREDITH (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • LYNDSAY H BURCH (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LYNDSAY H BURCH (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $109,667 total reported compensation
  • ROGER BUSFIELD (FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR): $54,800 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

B street theatre is one of the region's most enduring and celebrated destinations. We create and inspire community through exceptional live performances and the highest-quality educational programs. We also serve as a trusted incubator for new theatrical works and professional artists at our world-class sacramento home, the sofia.

What it reported doing in 2024

B street theatre produces seven professional mainstage productions each year, along wtih special engagements, featuring actors' equity association performers and professional directors, designers, and stage managers. Since 1991, b street's mainstage has been a nationally recognized incubator for new work, producing more than 150 world premieres, along with numerous west coast and regional premieres. A core member of the national new play network, b street is recognized as one of the leading producers of new plays in the country. With over 6,000 subscribers - a remarkable number for an organization of its size and location - more than 50,000 patrons attend mainstage productions annually. In recognition of its artistic excellence and impact, b street theatre was honored at the 2025 theatre of the year by the national threatre conference.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.3%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 19th 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: -33.8%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.63; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.66; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 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.

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: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.