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
69 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
24 people listed on the 990; $831K paid to officers and key staff.
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.
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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
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.
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Des moines performing arts presents the performing arts to iowa and the surrounding states. It is the presenter of major broadway and educational touring companies, performers and groups, and is the performing home of many local and regional groups, including the des moines symphony.
Education and community engagement programs are core to the des moines performing arts mission as a non-profit performing arts organization. More than 55,000 students and educators attend curriculum-connected school matinee performances at dmpa through the applause series annually - at a cost of only $1 per student.
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 | $2.8M | $4.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $10.6M | $9.6M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $23.8M | $21.9M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $45.0M | $44.6M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $11.9M | $11.0M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $33.1M | $33.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $8K | $8K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $373K | $261K | $75K | $37K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.7M | $1.1M | $184K | $386K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $86K | $70K | $5K | $11K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $215K | $174K | $14K | $28K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $203K | $152K | $19K | $32K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $8K | $8K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $34K | $34K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $915 | $549 | $137 | $229 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $12K | $11K | $2K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $84K | $42K | $13K | $28K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $346K | $319K | $26K | $1K |
| TravelLn 17 | $3K | $2K | $285 | $405 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $609 | $557 | $26 | $26 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $2.1M | $1.4M | $528K | $211K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $197K | $128K | $49K | $20K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $385K | $385K | ||
| All other expensesLn 24e | $602K | $321K | $171K | $110K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $6.4M | $4.4M | $1.1M | $868K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $26.2M | $28.2M | −$2.0M | $39.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $22.3M | $24.9M | −$2.6M | $40.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $28.3M | $28.0M | $256K | $42.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $29.6M | $21.0M | $8.7M | $41.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $5.3M | $6.4M | −$1.1M | $33.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $14.0M | $17.0M | −$3.0M | $33.1M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $5,283,158 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 19 of 19 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,283,158 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $6,354,208 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $44,627,960 assets, 19 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $33,605,955 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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