Upstream Arts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204451219
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6123314584
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$218,576
Expenses
$590,074
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULIE GUIDRY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIE GUIDRY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $151,179 total reported compensation
  • MATT GUIDRY (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $143,336 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Upstream arts uses the power of the creative arts to activate and amplify the voice and choice of individuals with disabilities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Adult: in 25-26, we carried out adult programs including a focus on art of relationships and art of prevention programming, our innovative sex education and healthy relationships programming that works to prevent and address the sexual violence epidemic in the disability community. In our programs for adults, teams of local professional artists lead multidisciplinary arts activities in theatre, dance, music, poetry and visual arts designed to develop soft skills specific to self advocacy, the workplace, healthy relationships, and meaningful community participation for individuals with disabilities ages 21-75+. These programs also benefit support staff in disability organizations and parents/ guardians/ support staff, who receive training on creative strategies to support the voice and choice of individuals with disabilities. Some of our adult programs are run in collaboration with adult day programsorganizations where adults with disabilities receive social and vocational services. We also offer open enrollment self advocacy classes for adults with disabilities where the arts offer a way to nurture self-expression and self-determination; adults with disabilities can use their mn state waivered dollars to attend these classes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 69% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 1
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 45.4%; rating input score 45
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -170%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 49.9%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 45.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $268K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.