Zootown Arts Community Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
800253229
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013, Form 990-T 2021
Location
Missoula, MT, USA
Phone
4065497555
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$992,118
Expenses
$1,215,689
Assets
$2,521,285
Liabilities
$242,570

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CAITLIN BUHL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SECRETARY)
  • ERIKA PETERMAN (PAST PRESIDENT/INTERIM ED)
  • KYLIE HANNAS (PRESIDENT)
  • PHIL SCHAEFER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ROBIN CHECOTA (PRESIDENT)
  • SARAH JUSTICE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIKA PETERMAN (PAST PRESIDENT/INTERIM ED): $42,402 total reported compensation
  • CAITLIN BUHL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SECRETARY): $20,621 total reported compensation
  • SARAH JUSTICE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $15,642 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cultivating community through accessible arts experiences for all

What it reported doing in 2024

Community enrichment: the zacc organizes and carries out several community enrichment events throughout the year. In addition to our many class offerings, first friday events, performances, gatherings and guest speakers which take place in various parts of our facility under several different program umbrellas, our last best print fest, missoula monster project and holiday open house events all attract a very large number of community members for participation. The three aforementioned events alone allow us to collaborate with more than 320 artists, and each event brings in approximately 500 attendees with the missoula monster project bringing in closer to 1,000 viewers/community participants.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.3%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 56.5%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th 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; 63rd 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: -22.5%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.07; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.3% of revenue deployed · 56.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $687K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $42K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • 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: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.