Puppet Co EIN 52-1320986

Puppet Co FY2021 filing

EIN  52-1320986 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Glen Echo, MD Founded 1991
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Creates engaging puppet shows and educational programs for children and families.
Leadership
Elizabeth Dapo · Artistic Director · $41K
Money in and out
$277K revenue, $288K expenses
Bottom line
99% program efficiency

Creates engaging puppet shows and educational programs for children and families. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $277K in revenue, $288K in expenses, and $190K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$277K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$288K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$190K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$11K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.99 Management & general $0.01
Program efficiency
99%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
3.8mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-4%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$277K
FY2021▲ +7%
Expenses
$288K
FY2021▲ +155%
Total assets
$233K
FY2021▼ -5%
Total liabilities
$43K
FY20210%
Total revenue
$277K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$288K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$190K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$11K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$233K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B99%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 35
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 44
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $285K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2021.
01

The puppet co. Is committed to providing accessible educational entertainment to children by producing classic children's stories using the fine art of puppet theatre performance. Attendance was approximately 5,000 during the year.

$285Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CPuppet Co
EINHdr · item D52-1320986
Principal addressHdr · item CGlen Echo, MD
WebsiteHdr · item Jthepuppetco.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1991
State of legal domicileHdr · item MMD
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A65Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFJan 1990

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a5
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b4
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
Artistic Director
$41,385Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director
$40,000Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$1,800Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Isabel Dawson’s $55K as Executive Director is at the 50th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2213 $100K–1M 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Isabel Dawson$55,000$16,077
Elizabeth Dapo$50,000$41,385$19,027
Elizabeth Dapo$49,670
Rachel Goldberg$47,305
Rachel Goldberg$32,769$40,000
Toni Goldberg$12,308
Justin Mohay$1,800

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$216K · 78%
Program service revenue$63K · 23%
Contributions & grants78%$216K
Program service revenue23%$63K
— government grantsLn 1e$203K
Total revenueLn 12$277K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.99 Management & general $0.01
Program services99%$285K
Management & general1%$3K
Total functional expensesLn 25$288K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$92K
Total assetsLn 16$233K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$43K
Total net assetsLn 32$190K
Months of cash on handcomputed3.8

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $92K · Operating expenses/yr $288K
3.8 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $285K · Total expenses $288K
99%
Management & General
Management & general $3K · Total expenses $288K
1%
Fundraising
Fundraising $0 · Total expenses $288K
0%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $928 · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $49K
$0.02 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $216K · Total revenue $277K
78%
Government reliance
Government grants $203K · Total revenue $277K
74%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $63K · Total revenue $277K
23%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $277K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $63K · Total expenses $288K
22%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $277K · Prior year $259K
+7%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $190K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $277K · Expenses $288K
-4%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $233K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $190K · Total assets $233K
82%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $233K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Elizabeth Dapo · Reported title ARTISTIC DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $41K · Total expenses $288K
14%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $185K · Total expenses $288K
64%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 99%
Overhead ratio 1%
Fundraising cost ratio 0%
Revenue growth 7%
Accounting fee ratio 2%

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 · FY2024
See all 6 funders →

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$318K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$417K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$430K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$397K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$277K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$259K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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