Playground INC EIN 94-3336399 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Playground INC

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Develops new local theatre voices by incubating playwrights. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $765K in revenue, $752K in expenses, and $825K in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Arts & Culture
Location
Berkeley, CA
Website
www.playground-sf.org
Filings
5 on file (2021–2025)
Revenue
$765KFY2025
Expenses
$752K
Net assets
$825K
People
13
Filings
5
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  94-3336399 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Berkeley, CA
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Develops new local theatre voices by incubating playwrights.
Leadership
James a Kleinmann · President · $110K
Money in and out
$765K revenue, $752K expenses
Bottom line
71% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$765K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$752K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$825K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $13K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.22 Fundraising $0.07
Program efficiency
71%
of spending reaches programs▲ +4% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
12.5mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +9% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+2%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +107% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$765K
FY2025▲ +31%
Expenses
$752K
FY2025▲ +3%
Total assets
$1.2M
FY2025▲ +19%
Total liabilities
$328K
FY2025▲ +113%
Total revenue
$765K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$752K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$825K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$13K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.2M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B71%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 313
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 412

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CPlayground INC
EINHdr · item D94-3336399
Principal addressHdr · item CBerkeley, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.playground-sf.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A25)
Ruling yearIRS BMFFeb 2000

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a13
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b12
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
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 (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
$110,000Pt VII · Sec A
Chair Emeritus
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

James a Kleinmann’s $110K as President is at the 92nd 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2022
James a Kleinmann$110,000$120,000$104,800

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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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $537K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Monday night playgroundproduce staged readings of 72 original short works from more than 300 submissions for an online audience of 2000+ with participation of more than 360+ theatre artists (12 PERFORMANCES).PLAYGROUND festival of new worksproduce a three-week online new works festival celebrating the best new short and full-length…

$537Kprogram expense
02

Commissioning initiative & playwright residency programdevelop 12-16 new full-length plays by playground alumni, including 4-6 under COMMISSION.PLAYGROUND young playwrights projectprovide playwriting classes for bay area high school students, free and discounted student admissions to public performances, and produce the annual young…

Pt IX · col B
03

Playground innovator incubator & innovators showcasesupport the development and launch of innovative new theatre companies and new works through a year-long intensive incubator and multi-week showcase, featuring full productions and public showings by incubator PARTICIPANTS.TOTAL expenses for all of the programs noted above amounted to…

Pt IX · col B

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$623K · 81%
Program service revenue$97K · 13%
Other revenue$28K · 4%
Investment income$16K · 2%
Contributions & grants81%$623K
Program service revenue13%$97K
Other revenue4%$28K
Investment income2%$16K
— government grantsLn 1e$171K
Total revenueLn 12$765K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.71 Management & general $0.22 Fundraising $0.07
Program services71%$537K
Management & general22%$164K
Fundraising7%$51K
Total functional expensesLn 25$752K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$781K
Total assetsLn 16$1.2M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$328K
Total net assetsLn 32$825K
Months of cash on handcomputed12.5

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $781K · Operating expenses/yr $752K
12.5 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $537K · Total expenses $752K
71%
Management & General
Management & general $164K · Total expenses $752K
22%
Fundraising
Fundraising $51K · Total expenses $752K
7%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $61K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $421K
$0.14 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $623K · Total revenue $765K
81%
Government reliance
Government grants $171K · Total revenue $765K
22%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $97K · Total revenue $765K
13%
Investment reliance
Investment income $16K · Total revenue $765K
+2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $97K · Total expenses $752K
13%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $765K · Prior year $585K
+31%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $550K · FY2024 $765K
+9%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $825K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $765K · Expenses $752K
+2%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.2M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $825K · Total assets $1.2M
72%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.2M
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual James a Kleinmann · Reported title President · Highest reported compensation $110K · Total expenses $752K
15%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $294K · Total expenses $752K
39%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 71%
Overhead ratio 22%
Fundraising cost ratio 8%
Revenue growth 31%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

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 6 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)$765K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$585K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$776K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$854K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$550K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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