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Creative West
Creative West reported $23.2 million in revenue and $9.4 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $86.97 went to program services, $12.56 to management and general costs and $0.47 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 85.3% of the total. Government grants made up 8.7%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $293,582 (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR). 7 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 366% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.
Where $100 of spending went
The fiscal year ending September 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $9.4MFor context, the median across 874 covered arts, culture & humanities charities: $79.92 programs, $13.89 management, $6.19 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
The fiscal year ending September 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $23MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | FY2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 87.0% | 78.3% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 12.6% | 13.6% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 0.5% | 6.1% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.00 | $0.10 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 85.3% | 57.9% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 8.7% | 1.7% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 10.6% | 20.8% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $293,582 | $385,706 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 3.12% | 2.03% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 7 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 27.0 | 36.6 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 24 of 24 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseWith support from the national endowment for the arts, Creative West maintains a tour west and regional engagement program, which funds arts touring. "tourwest," supports the touring of performing artists across the west. The program is designed to serve small communities, and is heavily oriented towards supporting performing arts presented in small rural communities. With grants up to $5,000, these grants are modest in nature but have made a significant difference in smaller communities where contributions from government and business have diminished greatly in recent years. Additionally…
Creative West provides a wide variety of services that are designed to support the development of the arts in the region. Major programs include: 1) convenings, networks, and planning processes that bring together leading practitioners in the arts field to discuss policy issues that impact artists and communities and to develop strategies for development of the arts, 2) professional development seminars for state arts agency leaders and investments in state arts agency innovation that are designed to help them become more effective and service oriented public sector agencies
Additionally, Creative West has online software as a service tools to connect artists to opportunities via; 3) the development of the public art archive, a searchable online database of completed public artworks throughout the U.S. And abroad, in which artists and managers of public art programs can contribute their work for free public viewing, and 4) arts service-based technology projects such as zapplication and call for entry (cafe tm) which support the non-profit arts community and artists in the use of technology to facilitate and advance their work
Highest reported compensation
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Officer, 37.50 hrs/week | $270,818 | $0 | $22,764 | $293,582 |
| DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY Highest compensated employee, 37.50 hrs/week | $152,644 | $0 | $16,855 | $169,499 |
| DEPUTY DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 37.50 hrs/week | $144,020 | $0 | $16,424 | $160,444 |
| DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION Officer, 37.50 hrs/week | $142,578 | $0 | $16,352 | $158,930 |
| DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS Highest compensated employee, 37.50 hrs/week | $129,834 | $0 | $15,715 | $145,549 |
| DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Highest compensated employee, 37.50 hrs/week | $122,142 | $0 | $15,330 | $137,472 |
| DIRECTOR OF GRANTS, AWARDS & PROGRAMS Officer, 37.50 hrs/week | $119,002 | $0 | $15,173 | $134,175 |
7 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Creative West (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $1.2M (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
FY2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b24 · 24 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bNo
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13No
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 549
- Volunteers Part I, line 6249
Private foundation grants it received
3 private foundations reported grants to Creative West totaling $1.2M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Creative West's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Creative West, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
Share or embed this breakdown
Of every $100 Creative West spent in FY2025, $86.97 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Similar-sized charities in this cause
- Franklin County Historical SocietyColumbus, OH · revenue $23M · programs 77.4% · FY2025
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- School of American BalletNew York, NY · revenue $23M · programs 73.6% · FY2025
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All arts, culture & humanities charities · Largest charities in Colorado
Questions people ask
How much of Creative West's spending goes to programs?
In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, Creative West reported that 87.0% of its $9.4 million in expenses went to program services, 12.6% to management and general and 0.5% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Creative West pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Creative West reported for one person in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025 was $293,582, for the role of EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Creative West get its money?
Of $23.2 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, 85.3% came from contributions and grants (including 8.7% from government grants) and 10.6% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Creative West a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 23-7255426 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, object 202622259349301907 · read the filing · XML
- FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, object 202532279349302748 · read the filing
- FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, object 202410959349301216 · read the filing
- FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, object 202341019349301314 · read the filing
- FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, object 202211549349300831 · read the filing
- FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, object 202100979349301705 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 23-7255426: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.