Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Sep 1973.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
88 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
69 people listed on the 990; $3.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Craig Hassall’s $854K as President/CEO is at the 97th percentile of top reported officer pay among 749 $10–100M 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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art J Falco | — | $175,909 | $222,954 | $523,597 | $533,301 | $930,503 |
| Craig Hassall | $854,402 | $739,427 | — | — | — | — |
| Gina Vernaci | — | $278,696 | $686,715 | $849,364 | $451,138 | $618,659 |
| Patricia Gaul | $548,686 | $584,180 | $561,553 | $513,954 | $307,980 | $370,706 |
| Michelle Ryan Stewart | $350,825 | $362,642 | $339,910 | $373,756 | $230,550 | $289,538 |
| Timothy Birch | — | — | $298,505 | $333,625 | $200,433 | $246,214 |
| Autumn Kiser | $313,245 | $315,666 | $297,348 | $332,468 | $199,299 | $236,151 |
| Timothy Luli | — | — | — | $325,281 | $226,792 | $284,423 |
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 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Operates and restores a performing arts center to revitalize its surrounding district while providing diverse arts education programs for students and adults across Ohio.
Questions for Playhouse Square Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Playhouse Square Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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The Foundation's purpose is to operate and sustain on a financially viable basis a performing arts center presenting and producing works of artistic excellence for the benefit of all citizens. The Foundation presented 1,208 performances in Fiscal Year 25, which were attended by approximately 1.1 million guests.
The Foundation is committed in its actions to enhance and develop that portion of downtown Cleveland known as "Playhouse Square" by not only operating the theaters as discussed in 4(a), but also by renovating and developing complementary commercial, residential and retail properties in the Playhouse Square District.
The Foundation is committed to offer a variety of educational activities that develop new audiences and enhance connections with existing audiences within Northeast Ohio region. Over 400,000 students and adults were engaged by the education department and approximately 184,000 individuals participated in education workshops and classes.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $98.1M | $82.8M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $130.0M | $142.1M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $86.7M | $85.5M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $346.4M | $343.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $135.0M | $128.3M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $211.4M | $214.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.5M | $1.5M | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $15.2M | $10.5M | $3.3M | $1.3M |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $766K | $458K | $220K | $88K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $2.9M | $2.1M | $581K | $263K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $1.2M | $729K | $388K | $123K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $158K | $158K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $177K | $177K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $150K | $150K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $2.4M | $1.8M | $597K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $4.9M | $4.3M | $151K | $361K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $1.2M | $651K | $482K | $26K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $281K | $145K | $117K | $20K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $2.3M | $1.8M | $462K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $48K | $48K | ||
| InterestLn 20 | $5.2M | $5.2M | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $6.4M | $6.3M | $59K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $758K | $690K | $68K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $48.7M | $48.3M | $334K | $15K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $94.1M | $83.3M | $8.6M | $2.2M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $89.1M | $94.1M | −$5.0M | $214.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $83.1M | $82.1M | $1.1M | $211.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $97.2M | $91.6M | $5.6M | $202.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $68.0M | $65.5M | $2.5M | $186.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $24.7M | $32.8M | −$8.1M | $193.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $62.9M | $58.9M | $4.0M | $185.0M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $89,145,681 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 59 of 60 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $89,145,681 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $94,110,216 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $342,994,161 assets, 20 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $214,736,396 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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