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First Stage Milwaukee INC Performing Arts Center EIN 39-1634828

First Stage Milwaukee INC Performing Arts Center

EIN  39-1634828 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Milwaukee, WI Founded 1987
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/22/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Creates exceptional theater experiences that engage, enlighten, and entertain children and families.
Leadership
Daniel Grambow · Part Year Managing Dir · $112K
Money in and out
$5.0M revenue, $6.1M expenses
Bottom line
67% program efficiency

Creates exceptional theater experiences that engage, enlighten, and entertain children and families. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $5.0M in revenue, $6.1M in expenses, and $2.8M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$5.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$6.1M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$2.8M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$1.1M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.67 Management & general $0.24 Fundraising $0.09
Program efficiency
67%
of spending reaches programs▼ -12% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
5.5mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -34% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-22%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -100% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$5.0M
FY2024▼ -4%
Expenses
$6.1M
FY2024▲ +6%
Total assets
$4.8M
FY2024▼ -19%
Total liabilities
$2.0M
FY2024▲ +18%
Total revenue
$5.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$6.1M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$2.8M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$1.1M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$4.8M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B67%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 323
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 423
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $4.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The first stage professional theater productions welcomed 68,974 audience members across 419 performances during the 2024/25 season. Among these performances included our sensory friendly performances, with one offered per production. More than 1,000 audience members were served through our sensory friendly performances.

$3.2Mprogram expense
02

Our first stage theater academy remains one of the nation's largest high-impact theater training programs for youth, teaching life skills through stage skills to young people ages 3-18 with a staff of professional teaching artists.

$582Kprogram expense
03

During the 2024/25 school year, first stage offered its theater in education programs to 76 schools and organizations, 58% of which are within the city of milwaukee. Theater in education programs included field trip packages, which pair a classroom's field trip to a weekday matinee theater performance with in-school workshops…

$379Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CFirst Stage Milwaukee INC Performing Arts Center
EINHdr · item D39-1634828
Principal addressHdr · item CMilwaukee, WI
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.firststage.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1987
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWI
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A65Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 1989

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a23
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b23
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
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
Daniel Grambow
Part Year Managing Dir
$111,612Pt VII · Sec A
Jeff Frank
Executive Artistic Director
$111,454Pt VII · Sec A
Kate Schmitt
Director of Finance & Administration
$76,814Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Christine Bestor Townsend
Vice President at Large
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Daniel Grambow’s $112K as Part Year Managing Dir is at the 41st 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 · 5 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Jeff Frank$111,454$143,588$110,835$101,002$102,537$122,128
Elizabeth Corry—$90,595$121,973$92,345$102,111$122,128
Daniel Grambow$111,612$30,221————
Debbie Moody——$44,323$71,582$76,848$75,871
Kate Schmitt$76,814$44,536————

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$2.4M · 49%
Program service revenue$1.9M · 38%
Investment income$579K · 12%
Other revenue$53K · 1%
Contributions & grants49%$2.4M
Program service revenue38%$1.9M
Investment income12%$579K
Other revenue1%$53K
— government grantsLn 1e$33K
Total revenueLn 12$5.0M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.67 Management & general $0.24 Fundraising $0.09
Program services67%$4.1M
Management & general24%$1.5M
Fundraising9%$523K
Total functional expensesLn 25$6.1M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$183K
Total assetsLn 16$4.8M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$2.0M
Total net assetsLn 32$2.8M
Months of cash on handcomputed0.4

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $2.8M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $6.1M · Less non-cash grants $950 · Cash operating expenses/yr $6.1M
5.5 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $4.1M · Total expenses $6.1M
67%
Management & General
Management & general $1.5M · Total expenses $6.1M
24%
Fundraising
Fundraising $523K · Total expenses $6.1M
9%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $469K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $2.8M
$0.17 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $2.4M · Total revenue $5.0M
49%
Government reliance
Government grants $33K · Total revenue $5.0M
1%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $1.9M · Total revenue $5.0M
38%
Investment reliance
Investment income $579K · Total revenue $5.0M
+12%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $1.9M · Total expenses $6.1M
31%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $5.0M · Prior year $5.2M
-4%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $5.2M · FY2024 $5.0M
-1%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $2.8M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $5.0M · Expenses $6.1M
-22%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $4.8M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $2.8M · Total assets $4.8M
58%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $2.6M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $4.8M
54%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Daniel Grambow · Reported title PART YEAR MANAGING DIR · Highest reported compensation $112K · Total expenses $6.1M
2%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.9M · Total expenses $6.1M
48%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 67%——
Overhead ratio 24%——
Fundraising cost ratio 21%——
Revenue growth -4%——

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 · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
The Burke Foundation INCFY2025$180K
The Ayco Charitable FoundationFY2025$6K
Dorothy Inbusch Foundation INCFY2025$2K
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$188K
See all 3 funders →

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Stage CenterLA
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The First Act Childrens Community Theatre INCFL
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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$5.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$4.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$5.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$4.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$5.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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