Towne Street Theatre

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954567319
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
5593674557
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$69,090
Expenses
$124,383
Assets
$196,575
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Veronica Thompson (President)
  • Nancy Renee (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Sarah Bauer (Secretary): $10,000 total reported compensation
  • Veronica McClelland (Treasurer): $7,002 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to provide a home for a diverse group of artists, primarily African American, to be free in their efforts to create and explore theatre without the constraints that are sometimes placed on them due to being against the backdrop of Hollywood. TST is committed to remaining a place where social justice conditions are continually explored, dismantled, and acknowledged because we strongly believe in the healing power of art.

What it reported doing in 2024

To create, develop and produce original work that is reflective of the Black experience and perspective for theater and film.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 84% 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 22
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 50%; rating input score 50
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 9th 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: 20%; rating input score 20; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -80%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.58; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 43.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -53.8% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.3% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90% of revenue deployed · 50% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 10 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $62K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $10K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 20/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.