Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1965.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
71 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
46 people listed on the 990; $854K paid to officers and key staff.
Jennifer Bilfield-Friedman’s $346K as President & CEO is at the 54th percentile of top reported officer pay among 749 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Bilfield-Friedman | $346,491 | $321,921 | $340,530 | $313,797 | $306,891 | $295,124 |
| Elizabeth Racheva | — | $149,387 | $188,048 | $177,092 | $172,969 | $165,417 |
| Paul Leider | $162,730 | $23,217 | — | — | — | — |
| Cornie Lorenzo Evans III | — | — | — | — | $155,325 | $138,565 |
| Samantha Pollack | $115,995 | $109,646 | $125,090 | $113,398 | $112,269 | $107,917 |
| Matthew Campbell | — | — | — | $120,484 | $117,714 | $108,824 |
| Michelle Hoffmann | — | — | $113,425 | $103,301 | $101,202 | — |
| Meiyu Tsung | $110,326 | — | — | — | — | — |
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 Washington Performing Arts Society 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 free performances and arts education, including residencies and instruction, to DC-area schools and communities.
Questions for Washington Performing Arts Society
Your first name shows with your question. Washington Performing Arts Society answers here, for everyone.
Since its 1965 founding by arts visionary patrick hayes, washington performing arts (wpa) has been one of america's most dynamic producers and presenters of live performance, arts education, and community engagement for almost 60 years.
Washington performing arts is a national leader in collaborative arts education including performances, residencies, classroom instruction, and teacher resources that reach DC PUBLIC/CHARTER schools across all eight wards, plus maryland and virginia.
Our signature community engagement initiative mars arts DC provides dynamic free performances in parks, clubs, street festivals, libraries, and public spaces while helping local artists build audiences.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | FY23 | FY22 | FY21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $23.3M | $13.9M | $7.7M | $7.4M | $8.0M |
| Given inLn 1b | $8.6M | $5.0M | $66K | $748K | $137K |
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $706K | $400K | $298K | $354K | $338K |
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $453K | $346K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $14.5M | $23.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $183K | $114K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $19.1M | $28.2M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $4.5M | $4.4M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $14.6M | $23.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $8K | $8K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $509K | $281K | $61K | $167K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.9M | $1.0M | $226K | $617K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $284K | $157K | $34K | $93K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $192K | $106K | $23K | $63K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $159K | $31K | $127K | |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $108K | $108K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $387K | $132K | $121K | $134K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $152K | $148K | $4K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $161K | $67K | $78K | $16K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $188K | $80K | $63K | $45K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | −$269K | $193K | −$534K | $72K |
| TravelLn 17 | $127K | $100K | $9K | $17K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | −$68K | $39K | $10K | −$117K |
| InterestLn 20 | $32K | $32K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $69K | $50K | $6K | $13K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $51K | $4K | $45K | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $2.0M | $1.8M | $100K | $105K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $8K | $4K | $5K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $6.0M | $4.3M | $479K | $1.2M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Jul 15, 2026 | $14.3M | $6.0M | $8.3M | $23.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Jul 15, 2025 | $10.4M | $6.2M | $4.2M | $14.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Jun 14, 2024 | $4.8M | $6.8M | −$2.0M | $10.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 8, 2023 | $7.8M | $5.5M | $2.3M | $11.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Jun 7, 2022 | $4.9M | $4.3M | $601K | $11.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Jul 14, 2021 | $4.5M | $5.3M | −$744K | $9.4M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $14,297,667 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 41 of 41 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $14,297,667 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,972,082 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $28,249,924 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $23,801,795 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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