Locust Projects INC EIN 65-1134780

Locust Projects INC

EIN  65-1134780 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Miami, FL
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 9/14/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Showcases site-specific art, bridging museums and commercial galleries.
Leadership
Lorie Mertes · Executive Director · $168K
Money in and out
$1.7M revenue, $1.2M expenses
Bottom line
73% program efficiency

Showcases site-specific art, bridging museums and commercial galleries. For fiscal year 2023 it reported $1.7M in revenue, $1.2M in expenses, and $585K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2023
Total revenue
$1.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.2M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$585K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $406K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.73 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.17
Program efficiency
73%
of spending reaches programs▲ +50% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
5.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +136% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+25%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +194% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990
Revenue
$1.7M
FY2023▲ +85%
Expenses
$1.2M
FY2023▲ +11%
Total assets
$1.3M
FY2023▲ +497%
Total liabilities
$744K
FY2023▲ ×17
Total revenue
$1.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.2M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$585K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$406K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B73%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 334
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 434
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $848K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2022.
01

Provided exhibition space and public exposure for site-specific visual artwork by presenting works of several local, national and international artists.

$715Kprogram expense
02

Provided incubator grants to visionary artists for innovative publicly accessible projects through wavemaker program.

$102Kprogram expense
03

Provided intensive art summer camp for high school students with an interest in art, design and exploring creative careers to learn from professional artists.

$31Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CLocust Projects INC
EINHdr · item D65-1134780
Principal addressHdr · item CMiami, FL
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.locustprojects.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MFL
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A20)
Ruling yearIRS BMFOct 2002

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a34
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b34
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aNo
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
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 · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$167,500Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Lorie Mertes’s $168K as Executive Director is at the 73rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3916 $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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Lorie Mertes$167,500$157,400$137,850$124,400

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 & grants105%$1.7M
Program service revenue$4K
— government grantsLn 1e$20K
Total revenueLn 12$1.7M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.73 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.17
Program services73%$913K
Management & general10%$120K
Fundraising17%$216K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.2M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$540K
Total assetsLn 16$1.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$744K
Total net assetsLn 32$585K
Months of cash on handcomputed5.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $540K · Operating expenses/yr $1.2M
5.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $913K · Total expenses $1.2M
73%
Management & General
Management & general $120K · Total expenses $1.2M
10%
Fundraising
Fundraising $216K · Total expenses $1.2M
17%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $194K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $1.2M
$0.17 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.7M · Total revenue $1.7M
105%
Government reliance
Government grants $20K · Total revenue $1.7M
1%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $4K · Total revenue $1.7M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $-22K · Total revenue $1.7M
-1%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $4K · Total expenses $1.2M
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.7M · Prior year $894K
+85%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $585K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.7M · Expenses $1.2M
+25%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.3M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $585K · Total assets $1.3M
44%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.3M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Lorie Mertes · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $168K · Total expenses $1.2M
13%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $435K · Total expenses $1.2M
35%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 73%
Overhead ratio 10%
Fundraising cost ratio 12%
Revenue growth 85%
Legal fee ratio 1%
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 · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$50K
Grants paid · 3 grants · $242K · 2019–2022
Unitemized GrantFY2022$55,400
Unitemized GrantFY2021$62,400
Unitemized GrantFY2019$124,100

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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
FY2023 (Latest)$1.7M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$894K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$877K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$1.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2023IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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