Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 1981.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
89 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
28 people listed on the 990; $1.7M paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Jeff Chelesvig’s $670K as President/CEO is at the 87th percentile of top reported officer pay among 572 $10–100M community development 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Chelesvig | $670,395 | $633,354 | $617,451 | $480,263 | $313,859 | $576,136 |
| Laura Sweet | $230,128 | $218,277 | $208,960 | $199,832 | $155,747 | $187,505 |
| Heidi Watkins | $215,107 | $200,463 | $190,002 | $158,150 | $114,613 | $136,837 |
| Barbara Preuss | $176,026 | $178,183 | $170,132 | $170,220 | $123,826 | $157,444 |
| Benjamin Luczak | — | $172,186 | — | — | — | — |
| Bill Pinegar | $163,370 | $157,026 | $132,148 | $107,324 | — | — |
| Cherian Koshy | — | — | — | $159,971 | $122,523 | $146,022 |
| Megan Kirk | $126,220 | $121,134 | $115,137 | — | — | — |
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 Des Moines Performing Arts executive salaries →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
Provides cultural, educational, and entertainment opportunities to improve life in Central Iowa.
Questions for Des Moines Performing Arts
Your first name shows with your question. Des Moines Performing Arts answers here, for everyone.
Des moines performing arts (dmpa) is a nationally recognized nonprofit arts organization, serving more than 350,000 people annually through a variety of performances, education, and community engagement.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 51-0138181) · Dispute this lineThe impact of dmpa programming reaches far beyond the big stage, into schools, public parks, and the creative fabric of our community. Each year, more than 50,000 students and teachers from across iowa benefit from curriculum-connected performances and training.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 51-0138181) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | FY23 | FY22 | FY21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $7.7M | $7.1M | $6.5M | $6.1M | $6.6M |
| AddedLn 1b | $94K | $81K | $90K | $88K | $68K |
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $5.1M | $2.1M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $16.0M | $18.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $22.2M | $21.8M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $51.4M | $51.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $10.7M | $11.5M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $40.6M | $39.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $8K | $8K | ||
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $937K | $656K | $187K | $94K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $4.5M | $3.8M | $258K | $457K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $155K | $133K | $8K | $14K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $456K | $391K | $27K | $38K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $391K | $326K | $27K | $38K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $85K | $85K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $38K | $38K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $30K | $30K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $23K | $23K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $11K | $10K | $187 | $312 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $324K | $266K | $58K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $114K | $57K | $19K | $38K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $14K | $14K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $517K | $513K | $3K | $1K |
| TravelLn 17 | $162K | $134K | $7K | $21K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $34K | $22K | $2K | $10K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $2.7M | $1.8M | $673K | $269K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $356K | $231K | $89K | $36K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $16.7M | $16.3M | $348K | $63K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $656K | $446K | $157K | $53K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $28.2M | $25.1M | $2.0M | $1.2M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 17, 2025 | $26.2M | $28.2M | −$2.0M | $39.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2024 | $22.3M | $24.9M | −$2.6M | $40.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2023 | $28.3M | $28.0M | $256K | $42.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2022 | $29.6M | $21.0M | $8.7M | $41.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 10, 2021 | $5.3M | $6.4M | −$1.1M | $33.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Feb 10, 2021 | $14.0M | $17.0M | −$3.0M | $33.1M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990
Part I · Summary $26,167,956 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 21 of 21 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $26,167,956 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $28,216,361 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $50,988,890 assets, 20 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $39,454,507 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file FY2025 from the IRS (about our sources) · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit
The names, titles, and financial information shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records. More
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. A filing can only be corrected by the organization filing an amended return with the IRS; the corrected information appears here at our next update.
We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing, and less than the filing contains. Our pages do not display home 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, contact the filing organization or the IRS directly.