Lobster Theater Project

Tax-deductible

San Francisco, CA501(c)(3)Arts & CultureEIN 10-0008474

Killing My Lobster's mission is to make fast, smart, inclusive, and fearless sketch comedy that makes people laugh.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
81¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 50 volunteers and 55 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
1 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $1K a year · under 1% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
81%
of spending
Looks good: 81% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$116K
to officers and key staff · 48% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 53% of similar orgs
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 48% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.8 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
4
named funders · $74K
Looks good: 4 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$288
0.8% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
4
of 4 voting members
Looks good: 4 of 4 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$222K
-12% vs prior year
Spent
$244K
To programs
81%
Net assets
$36K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$222K
FY2024▼ -12%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$266K
FY2021$213K
FY2022$324K
FY2023$253K
FY2024$222K
Expenses
$244K
FY2024▼ -14%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$190K
FY2021$234K
FY2022$336K
FY2023$282K
FY2024$244K
Net assets
$36K
FY2024▼ -38%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$118K
FY2021$98K
FY2022$87K
FY2023$58K
FY2024$36K

From the FY2024 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in May 2002.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

81 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 81% · $199K Management & general 17% · $42K Fundraising 2% · $4K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

6 people listed on the 990; $116K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Dir.
$59,078Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Dir.
$57,372Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Nicole Odell’s $59K as Executive Dir. is at the 53rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 2215 $100K–1M arts & culture 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Nicole Odell$59,078$62,271$60,269$7,332—
Emma McCool$57,372$58,554$52,389$11,851—
Allison Page———$57,067$57,212

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.

See Lobster Theater Project executive salaries →

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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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Create fast, smart, inclusive, and fearless sketch comedy to make people laugh.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Lobster Theater Project claims this page.

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3 program services account for $199K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Killing My Lobster is dedicated to producing high-quality, relevant, and fearless sketch comedy that makes people laugh. We are committed to finding the best and most diverse comedic talent in the Bay Area and bringing those artists together to create original and innovative shows.

$199Kprogram expense
02

We continued to maintain our fellowship program. This program along with the BIPOC Scholarship program is designed to amplify voices from the Bay Area BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities by providing them with professional sketch comedy instruction through our writing and acting classes.

Pt IX · col B
03

In 2024, we continued to require directors and instructors to utilize our Equitable Casting Guidelines and have begun implementing the Student Bill of Rights and Artist Bill of Rights. We remain committed to our inclusion goals of BIPOC and women writers on 100% of writing teams.

Pt IX · col B

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 4 funders$74K
See all 4 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$222K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$157K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$65K
Money outPt IX
$244K
Ln 25
Programscol B$199K
Managementcol C$42K
Fundraisingcol D$4K
Owns and owesPt X
$36K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$36K
Total assetsLn 16$36K
LiabilitiesLn 26$288
PeoplePt VI, VII
6
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a4
IndependentVI 1b4
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$157K
Government grantsLn 1e$41K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$18K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$65K
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$222K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$36K
SavingsLn 2$0
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$36K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$36K
LiabilitiesLn 26$288
Net assetsLn 32$36K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 555
VolunteersI 650
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$57K$36K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$232$0
Total assetsLn 16$58K$36K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$288
Net assetsLn 32$58K$36K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$4K$4K
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$126K$121K$4K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$6K$6K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1K$1K
Payroll taxesLn 10$15K$15K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$2K$2K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$42K$39K$3K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$0
Office expensesLn 13$8K$2K$5K$534
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$27K$24K$3K
TravelLn 17$0
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$83$83
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$232$232
InsuranceLn 23$6K$6K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$6K$3K−$462$3K
All other expensesLn 24e$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$244K$199K$42K$4K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $222K$244K−$22K$36K 990 PDF
FY2023 $253K$282K−$29K$58K 990 PDF
FY2022 $324K$336K−$11K$87K 990 PDF
FY2021 $213K$234K−$21K$98K 990 PDF
FY2020 $266K$190K$76K$118K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $221,947 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$18,026
VIII-1e Government grants$41,000
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$98,121
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$157,147
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $64,800$64,800
VIII-3 Investment income$0
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $64,800$221,947
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $243,937 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $4,442$4,442
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $121,092 · Management $4,460$125,552
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $6,197$6,197
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsManagement $1,479$1,479
IX-10 Payroll taxesManagement $15,342$15,342
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $2,288$2,288
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $38,603 · Management $3,153$41,756
IX-12 Advertising and promotion$0
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,597 · Management $5,395 · Fundraising $534$7,526
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $23,772 · Management $3,294$27,066
IX-17 Travel$0
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 InterestManagement $83$83
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $232$232
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $6,298$6,298
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $3,000 · Management −$462 · Fundraising $3,138$5,676
IX-24e All other expenses$0
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $198,703 · Management $41,562 · Fundraising $3,672$243,937
Part X · Balance sheet $36,141 assets, 18 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $57,111$35,641
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $500$500
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $232$0
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $57,843$36,141
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$288
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$288
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $57,843$35,853
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $57,843$35,853
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $57,843$36,141
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $35,853 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$221,947
XI-2 Total expenses$243,937
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$21,990
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$57,843
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$35,853

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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