Locust Projects INC EIN 65-1134780 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Locust Projects INC FY2022 filing

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Showcases site-specific art, bridging museums and commercial galleries. For fiscal year 2022 it reported $894K in revenue, $1.1M in expenses, and $179K in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Arts & Culture
Location
Miami, FL
Website
www.locustprojects.org
Filings
4 on file (2020–2022)
Revenue
$894KFY2022
Expenses
$1.1M
Net assets
$179K
People
35
Filings
4
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  65-1134780 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Miami, FL
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2022 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2023) →
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 9/14/26 · see original: 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 · $157K
Money in and out
$894K revenue, $1.1M expenses
Bottom line
49% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2022
Total revenue
$894K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.1M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$179K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$232K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.49 Management & general $0.29 Fundraising $0.22
Program efficiency
49%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
2.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-26%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2022 · Form 990
Revenue
$894K
FY2022▲ +2%
Expenses
$1.1M
FY2022▲ +43%
Total assets
$223K
FY2022▼ -47%
Total liabilities
$43K
FY2022▲ +276%
Total revenue
$894K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.1M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$179K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$232K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$223K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B49%
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 $487K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2021.
01

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

$380Kprogram expense
02

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

$71Kprogram 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.

$37Kprogram 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 (FY2021); the FY2022 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$157,400Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$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 & grants$842K · 94%
Other revenue$34K · 4%
Program service revenue$18K · 2%
Contributions & grants94%$842K
Other revenue4%$34K
Program service revenue2%$18K
Investment income$105
Total revenueLn 12$894K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.49 Management & general $0.29 Fundraising $0.22
Program services49%$548K
Management & general29%$329K
Fundraising22%$248K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.1M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$199K
Total assetsLn 16$223K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$43K
Total net assetsLn 32$179K
Months of cash on handcomputed2.1

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2022 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $199K · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $1.1M · Less non-cash grants $24K · Cash operating expenses/yr $1.1M
2.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $548K · Total expenses $1.1M
49%
Management & General
Management & general $329K · Total expenses $1.1M
29%
Fundraising
Fundraising $248K · Total expenses $1.1M
22%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $155K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $971K
$0.16 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $842K · Total revenue $894K
94%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $894K
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $18K · Total revenue $894K
2%
Investment reliance
Investment income $105 · Total revenue $894K
+0.01%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $18K · Total expenses $1.1M
2%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $894K · Prior year $877K
+2%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $179K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $894K · Expenses $1.1M
-26%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $223K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $179K · Total assets $223K
80%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $223K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Lorie Mertes · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $157K · Total expenses $1.1M
14%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $395K · Total expenses $1.1M
35%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 49%
Overhead ratio 29%
Fundraising cost ratio 30%
Revenue growth 2%
Accounting fee ratio 1%

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 · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$894K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 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) · FY2022IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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