philanthropy.org | 990 Resource | FAQ Verify yourself
Sign in

Forward Theater Company

Tax-deductible

Madison, WI501(c)(3)Arts & CultureEIN 26-4576271Revenue $2.2M in FY2025

On file with the IRSforwardtheater.comPo Box 14574, 53708-0574 · Madison, WITax-exempt since Aug 2009Publicly supported — 509(a)(2)

This page gets seen. Tell your story. Claim this org.

To provide exceptional Theater experiences for area audiences and give professional actors, designers, and directors an artistic home.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
70¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 34 volunteers and 33 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · 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
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $236K a year · 14% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
70%
of spending
Fine: 70% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$180K
to officers and key staff · 11% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 70% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 11% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
9 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 9.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
17
named funders · $525K
Looks good: 17 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$709K
19% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 19% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
15
of 15 voting members
Looks good: 15 of 15 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$2.2M
+10% vs prior year
Spent
$1.7M
To programs
70%
Net assets
$3.0M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$2.2M
FY2025▲ +10%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.4M
FY2021$1.5M
FY2022$1.5M
FY2023$1.5M
FY2024$2.0M
FY2025$2.2M
Expenses
$1.7M
FY2025▲ +6%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.2M
FY2021$1.2M
FY2022$1.4M
FY2023$1.6M
FY2024$1.6M
FY2025$1.7M
Net assets
$3.0M
FY2025▲ +21%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$1.6M
FY2021$2.1M
FY2022$2.2M
FY2023$2.1M
FY2024$2.5M
FY2025$3.0M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending June 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Aug 2009.

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

Where the money goes

70 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 70% · $1.2M Management & general 21% · $352K Fundraising 9% · $156K

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

Something off? The org can add a note here. Claim this org to fix it.

Who runs it and what they're paid

17 people listed on the 990; $180K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Jennifer Gray
Artistic Director
$95,700Pt VII · Sec A
Julie Swenson
Managing Director
$83,811Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Adam Erdmann
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Amie Goldman
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Jennifer Gray’s $96K as Artistic Director is at the 30th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Jennifer Gray$95,700$89,350$84,150$80,250$76,250—
Julie Swenson$83,811$80,607$77,002$77,833$74,062$73,550
Jennifer Uphoff Gray—————$73,550

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 Forward Theater Company executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Something off? The org can add a note here. Claim this org to fix it.

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

Offers exceptional theater experiences and an artistic home for theater professionals.

Questions for Forward Theater Company

Tap to ask. Forward Theater Company sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Forward Theater Company answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

1 program · $1.2M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

During the 2024-2025 season, FTC held four performances, king james, murder girl, summer 1976, and case for existence of god. Total attendance for each performance was 3,467, 4,853, 3,896, and 4,120, respectively.

$1.2Mprogram expense

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
Madison Community FoundationFY2024$131K
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFY2024$83K
Nimick Forbesway FoundationFY2024$50K
Evjue Foundation INCFY2024$50K
Shubert Foundation INCFY2024$40K
Donor Advised Charitable Giving INCFY2024$38K
Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramFY2024$35K
American Endowment FoundationFY2024$32K
Total grants receivedfrom 17 funders$525K
See all 17 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.2M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.1M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$858K
Investment incomeLn 3$234K
Money outPt IX
$1.7M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.2M
Managementcol C$352K
Fundraisingcol D$156K
Owns and owesPt X
$3.0M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.3M
Total assetsLn 16$3.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$709K
PeoplePt VI, VII
17
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a15
IndependentVI 1b15
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.1M
Government grantsLn 1e$13K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$47K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$43K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$858K
Investment incomeLn 3$234K
Other incomeLn 4–11$14K
Gains on assetsLn 7$64K
Total revenueLn 12$2.2M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$364K
SavingsLn 2$927K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.3M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$203K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3K
Other assetsLn 15$1.9M
Total assetsLn 16$3.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$709K
Net assetsLn 32$3.0M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 533
VolunteersI 634
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.9M$1.3M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$189K$203K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$10K$3K
Total assetsLn 16$3.2M$3.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$708K$709K
Net assetsLn 32$2.5M$3.0M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$208K$99K$77K$32K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$357K$180K$105K$72K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$17K$11K$3K$2K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$60K$38K$14K$9K
Payroll taxesLn 10$46K$24K$14K$8K
Accounting feesLn 11c$47K$47K
Investment management feesLn 11f$16K$16K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$168K$162K$6K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$152K$137K$798$14K
Office expensesLn 13$40K$4K$33K$3K
Information technologyLn 14$6K$2K$4K$254
RoyaltiesLn 15$77K$77K
OccupancyLn 16$370K$340K$19K$11K
TravelLn 17$2K$873$2K$15
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$3K$104$3K$66
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$11K$11K
InsuranceLn 23$17K$7K$6K$4K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$95K$92K$3K$1K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.7M$1.2M$352K$156K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $2.2M$1.7M$510K$3.0M 990 PDF
FY2024 $2.0M$1.6M$401K$2.5M 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.5M$1.6M−$113K$2.1M 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.5M$1.4M$143K$2.2M 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.5M$1.2M$323K$2.1M 990 PDF
FY2020 $1.4M$1.2M$155K$1.6M 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

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 FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,200,971 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,069,163$1,094,594
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $768,516$857,928
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $164,569$234,165
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$3,094$14,284
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,999,154$2,200,971
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $640,084$687,127
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $957,592$1,003,947
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $1,597,676$1,691,074
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $401,478$509,897
Part VI · Governance 15 of 15 board members independent, 2 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body15
VI-1b Independent voting members15
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,200,971 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$43,391
VIII-1e Government grants$12,600
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$1,038,603
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$47,059
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,094,594
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $857,928$857,928
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $170,047$170,047
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $64,118$64,118
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$2,115−$2,115
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $16,399$16,399
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $874,327 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $232,050$2,200,971
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,691,074 across 18 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $98,747 · Management $76,902 · Fundraising $32,195$207,844
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $180,079 · Management $105,136 · Fundraising $71,811$357,026
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $10,876 · Management $3,401 · Fundraising $2,330$16,607
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $37,548 · Management $13,682 · Fundraising $8,756$59,986
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $23,630 · Management $13,963 · Fundraising $8,071$45,664
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $47,345$47,345
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $16,457$16,457
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $161,991 · Management $5,532$167,523
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $136,980 · Management $798 · Fundraising $14,287$152,065
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $4,168 · Management $33,060 · Fundraising $2,960$40,188
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $2,154 · Management $3,670 · Fundraising $254$6,078
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $76,926$76,926
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $339,631 · Management $18,948 · Fundraising $10,952$369,531
IX-17 TravelPrograms $873 · Management $1,501 · Fundraising $15$2,389
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $104 · Management $2,711 · Fundraising $66$2,881
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $10,692$10,692
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $6,728 · Management $6,291 · Fundraising $3,636$16,655
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $91,540 · Management $2,587 · Fundraising $1,090$95,217
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,182,667 · Management $351,984 · Fundraising $156,423$1,691,074
Part X · Balance sheet $3,693,155 assets, 18 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $1,004,662$363,611
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $897,962$927,045
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $394,812$123,167
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $13,543$81,983
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $42,842$57,661
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $9,949$2,590
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $189,398$203,051
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $8,333$5,000
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $607,892$1,929,047
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $3,169,393$3,693,155
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $41,894$50,950
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $507,215$519,220
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $159,050$138,953
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $708,159$709,123
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,781,266$1,158,041
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $679,968$1,825,991
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $2,461,234$2,984,032
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $3,169,393$3,693,155
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,984,032 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,200,971
XI-2 Total expenses$1,691,074
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$509,897
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$2,461,234
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$10,991
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$1,910
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,984,032

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.