Dynamo Studios EIN 81-0756710

Dynamo Studios FY2023 filing

EIN  81-0756710 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Ooltewah, TN Founded 2015
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Empowers students to create art, music, and technology for personal and community growth.
Leadership
Kessler Cuffman · Executive Director · $65K
Money in and out
$557K revenue, $296K expenses
Bottom line
85% program efficiency

Empowers students to create art, music, and technology for personal and community growth. For fiscal year 2023 it reported $557K in revenue, $296K in expenses, and $390K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2023
Total revenue
$557K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$296K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$390K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $261K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.11 Fundraising $0.03
Program efficiency
85%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
7.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+47%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990
Revenue
$557K
FY2023▲ +130%
Expenses
$296K
FY2023▲ +33%
Total assets
$390K
FY2023▲ +202%
Total liabilities
$0
FY2023▼ -100%
Total revenue
$557K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$296K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$390K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$261K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$390K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B85%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 39
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 48
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

2 program services account for $253K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

In-School Program

All in school programs follow various teaching standards that we structure the CLASSES/PROGRAMS around (national arts media and A/V cte standards) so that students are able to received credit for their time in these classes.

$219Kprogram expense
02

Mentorship Program in Schools

At the start of the hcde 2023-2024 school year, dynamo studios plans to continue this work through funding and staffing three full-time teacher positions that will work between howard connect academy and howard high school as well as supporting programming at chatt prep, dalewood middle school, and center for creative arts.

$34Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CDynamo Studios
EINHdr · item D81-0756710
Principal addressHdr · item COoltewah, TN
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.dynamostudios.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2015
State of legal domicileHdr · item MTN
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A20)
Ruling yearIRS BMFDec 2015

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a9
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b8
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aNo
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$65,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Kessler Cuffman’s $80K as Executive Director is at the 75th 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Kessler Cuffman$80,000$97,917$65,000$53,874$46,041$16,875

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 & grants100%$557K
Program service revenue$150
— government grantsLn 1e$300K
Total revenueLn 12$557K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.11 Fundraising $0.03
Program services85%$253K
Management & general11%$33K
Fundraising3%$10K
Total functional expensesLn 25$296K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$178K
Total assetsLn 16$390K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$0
Total net assetsLn 32$390K
Months of cash on handcomputed7.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $178K · Operating expenses/yr $296K
7.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $253K · Total expenses $296K
85%
Management & General
Management & general $33K · Total expenses $296K
11%
Fundraising
Fundraising $10K · Total expenses $296K
3%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $5K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $250K
$0.02 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $557K · Total revenue $557K
100%
Government reliance
Government grants $300K · Total revenue $557K
54%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $150 · Total revenue $557K
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $557K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $150 · Total expenses $296K
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $557K · Prior year $243K
+130%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $390K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $557K · Expenses $296K
+47%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $390K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $390K · Total assets $390K
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $390K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Kessler Cuffman · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $65K · Total expenses $296K
22%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $209K · Total expenses $296K
70%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 85%
Overhead ratio 11%
Fundraising cost ratio 2%
Revenue growth 130%
Accounting fee ratio 4%

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 10 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)$1.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$452K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$557K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$243K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$162K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$96K 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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