Waco Theater Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812917440
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
North Hollywood, CA, USA
Phone
8184001151
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$143,808
Expenses
$2,009,512
Assets
$1,327,376
Liabilities
$101,817

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TINA KNOWLES (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHAY WAFER (EXECUTIVE DI): $125,500 total reported compensation
  • RICHARD LAWSON (FORMER OFFIC): $125,000 total reported compensation
  • TINA KNOWLES (PRESIDENT): $125,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Waco (where art can occur) theater center is a performing and visual arts organization that presents, commissions and develops artistic works dedicated to stories of the african diaspora. Co-founded by richard lawson and tina knowles, waco provides artists and young people a platform to voice and showcase their creativity to connect and inspire others. Waco's artistic and education programs are driven by four values. We create work that unapologetically: centers black art and culture from a diasporic lens and voice; incubates and launches new creative ideas to memorialize the past and envision the future of black life; is collaborative and leads with an ubuntu mindset, "i am, because we are- and serves the needs of the community including the social, economic, and civic priorities of our neighbors and black los angeles. Now in our eighth season, we have continued to elevate an emphasis on the history of the african diaspora and culture in our programming. We firmly believe in the power

What it reported doing in 2024

During this fiscal year, waco made significant investments in organizational infrastructure to ensure that our transition to the vision theatre is not only successful, but sustainable. We recognize that a move of this magnitude requires more than enthusiasm and artistic vision - it requires sound planning, strong governance, diversified financial strategy, and the leadership capacity to steward a complex, multi-program institution at a new level of scale. Becoming the vision is the work of building all of those things at once. To guide this process, waco engaged experienced planning consultants whose expertise spans nonprofit organizational development, arts administration, and institutional capacity building. These partnerships were not transactional. They were deeply collaborative engagements designed to align our organizational structure with the ambition and responsibility of operating a major performing arts complex in one of los angeles' most historically significant cultural corridors. The work this fiscal year centered on three interconnected areas of development: business planning. Waco worked with consultants to develop a comprehensive business plan that charts a clear and realistic pathway for operating the vision theatre performing arts complex. This plan examines our programming model, operational capacity, staffing structure, revenue streams, and long-term financial sustainability. It translates waco's artistic mission into an organizational roadmap - one that honors who we are while preparing us for the demands and opportunities of who we are becoming. Fundraising strategy. Expanding into a major performing arts venue requires an equally expanded approach to resource development. This fiscal year, waco developed a robust fundraising plan designed to diversify and grow our revenue base in alignment with our new operational reality. This plan encompasses individual giving, institutional philanthropy, government funding, earned revenue, and corporate partnerships - building the financial architecture necessary to support a thriving, community-centered arts complex for years to come. Board development. Strong governance is the backbone of any enduring institution. As waco grows, so too must the leadership that guides it. This year, we engaged in intentional board development work - identifying the skills, perspectives, and networks needed to build a board that is equipped to govern a performing arts complex, advocate for waco's mission, and steward our resources with excellence and accountability. This work is as much about organizational culture as it is about structure - cultivating a governance model that reflects waco's values and the community we serve.

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

SUPPORTED - 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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 22nd 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: -1,297.4%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 8 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $108K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 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.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.