Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Sep 1967.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
70 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
28 people listed on the 990; $368K paid to officers and key staff.
Elizabeth Rouse’s $165K as President, CEO is at the 72nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Rouse | $164,814 | $160,604 | $155,872 | $151,534 | $149,040 | $150,800 |
| Tracy Lauritzen Wright | $107,681 | $104,417 | $101,500 | $98,250 | $96,750 | $96,500 |
| Julie Wiklund | $95,175 | $90,157 | $87,725 | $33,435 | — | — |
| Ellen Lester | — | — | — | $63,134 | $92,750 | $92,500 |
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
Preserves Memphis' music heritage and supports local neighborhoods.
Questions for Arts Memphis
Your first name shows with your question. Arts Memphis answers here, for everyone.
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Operating Support Grants
Artsmemphis, through this cornerstone grant program, nurtures small, community-based arts organizations and supports larger organizations that create the seeds for new initiatives and lend stability to the overall arts landscape. Artsmemphis seeks to enable all effective arts organizations to succeed.
Enhancement Grants
The purpose of these grants, which come from a specific fund of our endowment, is to build an organization's long-term capacity, increase long-term earned income streams, catalyze and assist an organization in going to the next level, AND/OR fund venture CAPITAL/RISK-TAKING initiatives with potential for return on investment and broad…
Artsassist Grants
These are unrestricted grants for artists, to support the expansion and innovation of quality artistic work. Artsmemphis recognizes the risk taking that is necessary to advance an artist's vision, practice, and artistic accomplishments.
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 | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.0M | $617K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $26.4M | $27.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $235K | $140K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $27.8M | $28.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $5.8M | $5.9M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $22.1M | $22.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $1.6M | $1.6M | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $92K | $92K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $368K | $123K | $89K | $156K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $337K | $112K | $82K | $143K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $21K | $7K | $5K | $9K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $46K | $15K | $11K | $20K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $52K | $17K | $13K | $22K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $27K | $27K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $3K | $1K | $752 | $1K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $211K | $105K | $105K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $8K | $3K | $2K | $3K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $74K | $25K | $18K | $31K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $3K | $3K | ||
| InterestLn 20 | $15K | $15K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $40K | $13K | $10K | $17K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $5K | $2K | $1K | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $136K | $25K | $9K | $103K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $43K | $6K | $25K | $11K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.1M | $2.2M | $311K | $623K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $2.0M | $3.1M | −$1.1M | $22.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $2.3M | $3.9M | −$1.6M | $22.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $3.3M | $4.4M | −$1.1M | $22.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $4.8M | $3.5M | $1.4M | $21.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $7.6M | $2.3M | $5.4M | $21.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.4M | $2.7M | −$1.4M | $12.2M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,017,994 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 25 of 25 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,017,994 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,089,191 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $28,806,095 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $22,910,010 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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