Creative West EIN 23-7255426

Creative West FY2021 filing

EIN  23-7255426 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Denver, CO Founded 1972
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Verified accurate 8/13/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Strengthens the arts sector by providing financial, organizational, and policy support alongside online technology tools that connect artists with career opportunities and public archives.
Leadership
Christian Gaines · Executive Director · $202K
Money in and out
$15.5M revenue, $6.4M expenses
Bottom line
87% program efficiency

Strengthens the arts sector by providing financial, organizational, and policy support alongside online technology tools that connect artists with career opportunities and public archives. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $15.5M in revenue, $6.4M in expenses, and $10.6M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$15.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$6.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$10.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $9.2M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.87 Management & general $0.12 Fundraising $0.01
Program efficiency
87%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
18.9mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+59%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$15.5M
FY2021▲ +212%
Expenses
$6.4M
FY2021▲ +25%
Total assets
$11.1M
FY2021▲ +134%
Total liabilities
$590K
FY2021▼ -81%
Total revenue
$15.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$6.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$10.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$9.2M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$11.1M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B87%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 321
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 421
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

2 program services account for $5.6M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

See schedule O.WESTAF provides a wide variety of services that are designed to support the development of the arts in the region. Major programs include: 1) symposia that bring together academics and those working in the arts field to discuss issues of cultural policy that impact the development of the arts, 2) professional development…

$4.9Mprogram expense
02

See schedule O.WITH support from the national endowment for the arts, westaf maintains a tour west program, which funds arts touring. "tourwest," supports the touring of performing artists across the west.

$639Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CCreative West
EINHdr · item D23-7255426
Principal addressHdr · item CDenver, CO
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.westaf.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1972
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCO
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A260)
Ruling yearIRS BMFFeb 1973

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a21
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b21
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$202,240Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Technology & I
$115,232Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance & Admi
$83,507Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Bot Vice Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Christian Gaines’s $251K as Executive Director is at the 93rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3916 $1–10M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Christian Gaines$250,635$235,334$209,782$202,240
Christian Gaines - Doh 11419$202,090
Paul Ngyuen$134,700
Paul Nguyen$134,693
Amy Hollrah$117,608$117,983$89,571$83,507$85,602
Adam Sestokas$115,232$108,539
David Holland$113,924$104,970
Christina Villa$105,317$100,189

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$13.0M · 84%
Program service revenue$2.5M · 16%
Contributions & grants84%$13.0M
Program service revenue16%$2.5M
Investment income$4K
— government grantsLn 1e$3.1M
Total revenueLn 12$15.5M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.87 Management & general $0.12 Fundraising $0.01
Program services87%$5.6M
Management & general12%$783K
Fundraising1%$40K
Total functional expensesLn 25$6.4M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$1.1M
Total assetsLn 16$11.1M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$590K
Total net assetsLn 32$10.6M
Months of cash on handcomputed2.1

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $10.0M · Operating expenses/yr $6.4M
18.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $5.6M · Total expenses $6.4M
87%
Management & General
Management & general $783K · Total expenses $6.4M
12%
Fundraising
Fundraising $40K · Total expenses $6.4M
1%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $22K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $5.0M
$0.00 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $13.0M · Total revenue $15.5M
84%
Government reliance
Government grants $3.1M · Total revenue $15.5M
20%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $2.5M · Total revenue $15.5M
16%
Investment reliance
Investment income $4K · Total revenue $15.5M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $2.5M · Total expenses $6.4M
40%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $15.5M · Prior year $5.0M
+212%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $10.6M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $15.5M · Expenses $6.4M
+59%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $11.1M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $10.6M · Total assets $11.1M
95%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $8.9M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $11.1M
80%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Christian Gaines · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $202K · Total expenses $6.4M
3%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.6M · Total expenses $6.4M
41%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 87%
Overhead ratio 12%
Fundraising cost ratio 0%
Revenue growth 212%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 1%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$250K
Grants paid · 347 grants · $7.1M · 2019–2023
Arts NorthwestWA · FY2023$47,000
Yvonne EtagheneAZ · FY2023$15,000
The Mundi ProjectUT · FY2023$12,500
University of UtahUT · FY2023$12,000
Young Musicians INCCA · FY2023$11,900
Auditorium Chamber Music SeriesID · FY2023$11,750
Mountain Time ArtsMT · FY2023$11,100
City of Las Vegas - Dept of Parks Recreation and Cultural AffaFY2023$11,000
Jazz in Arizona INCAZ · FY2023$11,000
City of Fort Collins Lincoln Center for the Perf ArtsFY2023$10,250
Gila Valley Arts CouncilAZ · FY2023$10,250
Isla Montessori School INCMP · FY2023$10,000
MangoFY2023$10,000
Mary ZhangFY2023$10,000
See all 347 grants →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$9.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$7.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$6.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$15.5M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$5.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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