Walnut Hill Center for the Arts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 042103636
IRS 990 coverage: 2010–2024
Forms available: Form 990 2024
Location: Natick, MA, USA
Phone: 5086534312
Rating: 76
Verdict: SUPPORTED
Rating confidence: Moderate
Sector: Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue: $26,869,948
Expenses: $26,667,942
Assets: $75,005,707
Liabilities: $25,029,746

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Highest reported compensation

ERIC BARBER (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $381,828 total reported compensation
ALLISON M COOLEY (CHIEF DEVEL. OFFICER AS OF 02/2024): $202,615 total reported compensation
KEVIN SMITH (DIR. OF ENROLLMENT MGMT. UNTIL 11/24): $182,938 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Walnut hill center for the arts transforms lives, builds community and expands culture through the arts.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instructional expenses related to educating students in grades 9 through 12 while at school. The school enrolled approximately 274 students during the fall and spring semesters. Walnut hill students immerse themselves deeply in their art, guided by highly accomplished professional artists who have dedicated themselves to supporting young people on their artistic journeys. This time spent mastering an artistic discipline is balanced by engagement in a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum that challenges students to ask big questions, solve complex problems, and explore traditional academic subjects through innovative, hands-on lessons.

Operating model

Revenue model: Other-operating. 88% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model: Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 75% for direct work, and 25% for grants.

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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 71
Transparency & Controls: 70
Accountability: 95
Sustainability: 48
Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 80.7%; rating input score 81
Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 77
Fundraising efficiency: $1.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

Operating margin: 0.8%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.81; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 6.9%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: 80.7% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $20.7M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $382K · 36 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.9M reported
Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
Contacts: How to reach this organization
Money network: 11 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.