Williamston Theatre is a professional regional Theatre whose mission is to offer a diverse array of intimate storytelling experiences to entertain, build a sense of belonging, and foster empathy for the human journey.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
77¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$77K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $122K a year · 18% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
77%
of spending
Looks good: 77% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$77K
to officers and key staff · 21% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 21% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
5 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 5.0 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
7
named funders · $107K
Looks good: 7 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$41K
6% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 6% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 7 voting members
Looks good: 7 of 7 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$473K
Spent
$372K
To programs
77%
Net assets
$619K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$473K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$473K
FY2021$493K
FY2022$653K
FY2023$577K
FY2024$1.0M
FY2025$816K
Expenses
$372K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$372K
FY2021$199K
FY2022$603K
FY2023$672K
FY2024$718K
FY2025$752K
Net assets
$619K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$619K
FY2021$913K
FY2022$962K
FY2023$868K
FY2024$1.2M
FY2025$1.2M

From the FY2020 Form 990 (year ending August 2020) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2005.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

77 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 77% · $288K Management & general 13% · $49K Fundraising 9% · $35K

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

7 people listed on the 990; $77K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2019); the FY2020 filing did not itemize Part VII
President
$76,981Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice Preside
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Emily Sutton - Smith’s $51K as Executive Director is at the 45th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2216 $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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2020
John Lepard—$76,981
Emily Sutton - Smith$50,828—
Tony Caselli$50,828—
Chris Purchis$50,828—

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 Williamston Theatre executive salaries →

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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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Presents affordable, professional live theatre year-round, engaging audiences and supporting artists.

Questions for Williamston Theatre

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $288K · in their own filed words · FY2019
01

The theatre was able to present 3 of 6 scheduled productions of season 14 before covid 19 forced the shutdown of the theatre. There were 75 performances with live audiences. A fourth production was ready for opening night at the time of shutdown.

$288Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 7 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$473K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$328K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$143K
Other incomeLn 4–11$2K
Money outPt IX
$372K
Ln 25
Programscol B$288K
Managementcol C$49K
Fundraisingcol D$35K
Owns and owesPt X
$619K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$156K
Total assetsLn 16$659K
LiabilitiesLn 26$41K
PeoplePt VI, VII
7
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$328K
Government grantsLn 1e$90K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$143K
Other incomeLn 4–11$2K
Total revenueLn 12$473K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$106K
SavingsLn 2$51K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$156K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$422K
Other assetsLn 15$62K
Total assetsLn 16$659K
LiabilitiesLn 26$41K
Net assetsLn 32$619K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 520
VolunteersI 620
Fiscal year endsHeaderAugust
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$185K$156K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$363K$422K
Total assetsLn 16$616K$659K
LiabilitiesLn 26$98K$41K
Net assetsLn 32$518K$619K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$77K$25K$29K$23K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$103K$103K
Payroll taxesLn 10$33K$27K$3K$3K
Accounting feesLn 11c$7K$7K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$23K$23K$489
Office expensesLn 13$4K$4K
RoyaltiesLn 15$15K$15K
OccupancyLn 16$15K$12K$3K$707
TravelLn 17$3K$3K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$750$750
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$23K$19K$3K$662
InsuranceLn 23$3K$3K$330$166
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$65K$58K$19$8K
Total functional expensesLn 25$372K$288K$49K$35K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $816K$752K$64K$1.2M 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Mar 28, 2025 $1.0M$718K$318K$1.2M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Jan 19, 2024 $577K$672K−$95K$868K 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Jul 13, 2023 $653K$603K$49K$962K 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Jan 13, 2022 $493K$199K$294K$913K 990 PDF
FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Dec 23, 2021 $473K$372K$101K$619K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $472,602 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $356,546$327,597
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $270,882$143,048
I-10 Investment income$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $4,373$1,957
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $631,801$472,602
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $273,022$213,083
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $233,972$158,828
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $506,994$371,911
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $124,807$100,691
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, 5 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body7
VI-1b Independent voting members7
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $472,602 across 6 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$90,065
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$237,532
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$327,597
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)$143,048
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)$1,957
VIII-12 Total revenue$472,602
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $371,911 across 13 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $24,846 · Management $29,391 · Fundraising $22,744$76,981
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $103,056$103,056
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $27,215 · Management $3,287 · Fundraising $2,544$33,046
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $6,858$6,858
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $22,510 · Fundraising $489$22,999
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $3,621$3,621
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $15,341$15,341
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $11,895 · Management $2,520 · Fundraising $707$15,122
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,530$2,530
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $750$750
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $19,381 · Management $3,010 · Fundraising $662$23,053
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $2,814 · Management $330 · Fundraising $166$3,310
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $57,634 · Management $19 · Fundraising $7,591$65,244
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $287,972 · Management $49,036 · Fundraising $34,903$371,911
Part X · Balance sheet $659,482 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $116,758$105,643
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $67,843$50,710
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $10,943$12,084
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $19,119$7,402
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $363,191$421,790
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $38,586$61,853
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $616,440$659,482
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $36,825$31,805
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $61,569$8,939
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $98,394$40,744
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $434,343$552,360
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $83,703$66,378
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $518,046$618,738
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $616,440$659,482
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $618,738 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$472,602
XI-2 Total expenses$371,911
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$100,691
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$518,046
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$1
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$618,738

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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