Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1968.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
90 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
56 people listed on the 990; $138K paid to officers and key staff.
Maureen Ater’s $118K as President and CEO is at the 47th 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Whitehill | — | $168,068 | $161,772 | $151,728 | — | — |
| Robert Hankins | — | — | — | — | $137,979 | $150,901 |
| Maureen Ater | $118,457 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Emil Alecusan | — | $17,325 | — | — | — | — |
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
Uses the arts to drive economic development, tourism, education, and well-being, while promoting local cultural events to make Stark County a thriving region.
Questions for Arts in Stark
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The organization administers a program that annually awards operating and special project grants to county not-for-profit entities, schools, and artists. It coordinates public art projects and celebrations, such as first friday, to revitalize the county's downtown areas.
The organization maintains the 330,000 square foot cultural center for the arts which is home to four resident organizations: the canton ballet, canton museum of art, players guild theatre, and sing stark! Collectively, these organizations bring the arts to 150,000 people each year.
The organization's marketing program is designed to build new audiences to support our $15 million cultural industry that delights 2.3 million tourists each year. Public speeches, radio and television ads, brochures, billboards, and e-mail campaigns are invitations for people to enjoy the 100 arts, history, cultural organizations, and…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.5M | $1.8M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $15.1M | $18.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $5.8M | $5.7M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $23.9M | $26.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.7M | $1.7M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $22.2M | $25.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $1.1M | $1.1M | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $197K | $149K | $18K | $30K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $500K | $380K | $45K | $75K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $10K | $8K | $1K | $2K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $65K | $48K | $7K | $10K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $54K | $40K | $6K | $8K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $550 | $550 | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $18K | $18K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1K | $1K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $76K | $59K | $16K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $69K | $39K | $26K | $4K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $151K | $136K | $13K | $2K |
| TravelLn 17 | $14K | $9K | $6K | |
| InterestLn 20 | $9K | $9K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $467K | $444K | $23K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $45K | $43K | $2K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $547K | $547K | ||
| All other expensesLn 24e | $35K | $18K | $17K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.4M | $3.1M | $194K | $147K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $2.7M | $3.4M | −$665K | $26.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $3.9M | $4.5M | −$579K | $25.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $3.1M | $3.4M | −$359K | $24.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $3.2M | $3.5M | −$317K | $23.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $1.9M | $3.4M | −$1.5M | $25.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $2.8M | $3.8M | −$975K | $22.2M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,886,035 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 54 of 54 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,886,035 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,394,723 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $26,886,137 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $25,187,709 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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