Third Avenue Playhouse Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391972553
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Sturgeon Bay, WI, USA
Phone
9207431760
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,273,817
Expenses
$910,968
Assets
$3,163,650
Liabilities
$867,270

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMY BIERSTEKER (PRESIDENT)
  • LYNNE INMAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL WRIGHT (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • ALAN KOISCHKE (PAST PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JACOB JANSSEN (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $60,416 total reported compensation
  • ROBIN HARTEL LEFT SEPT '25 (BUSINESS MANAGER): $25,878 total reported compensation
  • JANETTE CRANCICH (GENERAL MANAGER): $23,077 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Third avenue playworks inspires community connections and sparks dialogue through wide-ranging professional theatre.

What it reported doing in 2025

To provide year-round, professional theatre, in an intimate setting, for door county residents and seasonal visitors. Tap is also committed to providing theatre education and performance opportunities for the door county community by offering classes, workshops and productions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 50.6%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 70.1%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 28.5%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.47; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 50.6% of revenue deployed · 70.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $639K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.