Is it real?
Yes. Exemption reinstated. Listed in IRS Pub. 78 (as of October 2026). Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 2004.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
13 people listed on the 990; $224K paid to officers and key staff.
Brooke Abrahamsen’s $62K as Executive Artistic Director is at the 5th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1552 $1–10M youth development nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooke Abrahamsen | $61,800 | $54,650 | $56,000 | $53,800 | $49,200 | $46,800 |
| Jacob Filegar | — | — | $54,200 | $51,900 | $45,600 | $43,800 |
| Joy Osborne | — | — | $51,000 | $43,200 | $36,000 | $36,000 |
| Rebecca McNamee | — | — | $50,000 | $46,800 | $21,475 | $24,000 |
| Michael D George | $48,000 | $39,500 | — | — | — | — |
| Carson Burkett | — | — | — | — | — | $39,600 |
| Ashley Love | — | — | $34,500 | — | — | — |
| Donna Amadee | — | — | — | $28,100 | $23,400 | $33,600 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Builds character and community through theater for youth and adults.
Questions for Characterworks INC
Your first name shows with your question. Characterworks INC answers here, for everyone.
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Musical Productions
CharacterWorks produced 8 main stage broadway-style musicals this past season utilizing student actors and performed for a combined audience of 15,885 in a total of 45 performances.
Classes and Camps
CharacterWorks conducted theater arts classes during the school year and theater camps during the summer. We conducted 63 classes over the fall, winter and spring sessions with a combined total of 961 students. Our summer camp musical theater program ran from June-August with 460 students.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $122K | $123K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $27K | $41K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $375K | $406K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $0 | $0 |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $375K | $406K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $224K | $196K | $28K | $0 |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $171K | $162K | $8K | $0 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $90K | $84K | $6K | $0 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $2K | $2K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $0 | $0 | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $25K | $25K | ||
| Information technologyLn 14 | $9K | $9K | ||
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $42K | $42K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $205K | $121K | $84K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $4K | $4K | ||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $8K | $7K | $623 | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $13K | $13K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $14K | $14K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $131K | $130K | $975 | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $942K | $735K | $206K | $623 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.3M | $1.3M | $13K | $544K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.0M | $1.1M | −$131K | $275K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $973K | $942K | $31K | $406K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $827K | $783K | $43K | $375K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $478K | $465K | $13K | $332K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $972,509 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, 5 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $972,509 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $941,593 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $406,053 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $406,053 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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