Houston Ballet Foundation

Houston, TX · EIN 74-1394920 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 (tax year 2024) · View the filing · Correct or respond

Houston Ballet Foundation reported $42.0 million in revenue and $42.0 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $82.48 went to program services, $6.87 to management and general costs and $10.65 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was program service revenue such as fees, sales and contracts: 42.7% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $650,352 (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR). 20 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 25% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.

Where $100 of spending went

The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $42M

Program services$82.48 $35M
Management & general$6.87 $2.9M
Fundraising$10.65 $4.5M

For context, the median across 876 covered arts, culture & humanities charities: $79.98 programs, $13.89 management, $6.13 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).

Where $100 of revenue came from

The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $42M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$35.13 $15M
Government grants$2.62 $1.1M
Program service revenue$42.33 $18M
Investment income$19.92 $8.4M

Other revenue was negative: −$388K. The bar shows the positive sources only.

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

FY2025 filing. Median across 876 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	FY2025	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	82.5%	78.5%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	6.9%	13.6%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	10.6%	6.0%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.28	$0.10
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	38.1%	57.5%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	2.6%	1.7%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	42.7%	20.8%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$650,352	$385,706
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	1.55%	2.03%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	20	8
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	50.7	36.6
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	115 of 115	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 expense

$26M expenses · 76.5% of program spending · revenue $14M

Dance performances by the company of professional dancers and orchestra in houston, tx, on tour nationally and internationally include production expenses such as salary of performers, cost of costumes, stage sets, theater rental, orchestra and other related expenses

$8.1M expenses · 23.5% of program spending · grants $975K · revenue $3.9M

Academy dance education includes expenses relating to the operation of the ballet academy, scholarships and tuition for academy students

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
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Officer, 40.0 hrs/week	$611,826	$0	$38,526	$650,352
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Officer, 40.0 hrs/week	$561,658	$0	$40,270	$601,928
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Officer, 40.0 hrs/week	$382,526	$0	$49,989	$432,515
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Officer, 40.0 hrs/week	$242,992	$0	$28,839	$271,831
CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Highest compensated employee, 40.0 hrs/week	$232,120	$0	$30,988	$263,108
ACADEMY DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 40.0 hrs/week	$147,278	$0	$23,543	$170,821
SENIOR DIRECTOR SPECIAL EVENTS Highest compensated employee, 40.0 hrs/week	$140,779	$0	$23,218	$163,997
Dancer - Principal Highest compensated employee, 40.0 hrs/week	$135,458	$0	$24,934	$160,392

20 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Houston Ballet Foundation (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $2.4M (Part IX, line 5).

6 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
FY2025 ⓘ	$42M	$42M	82.5%	$177M	$650,352
FY2024 ⓘ	$46M	$40M	81.9%	$173M	$521,873
FY2023 ⓘ	$39M	$39M	80.7%	$162M	$515,315
FY2022 ⓘ	$49M	$33M	80.2%	$158M	$478,807
FY2021 ⓘ	$40M	$20M	73.2%	$159M	$429,925
FY2020 ⓘ	$34M	$33M	82.3%	$134M	$435,631

Governance 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–1b115 · 115 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
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 2Yes
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 4No
Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
Employees Part I, line 5602
Volunteers Part I, line 6292

Largest outside contractors

FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only

IATSE LOCAL 51 Union stage hands	$1,693,739
STRIKE MARKETING Marketing/ad services	$1,555,130
DATAVOX Technology	$458,021
JIXAW TECHNOLOGIES Technology	$303,078
WORTHAM CENTER OPERATING CO Wortham crew fees	$264,343

Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 17 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.

Private foundation grants it received

18 private foundations reported grants to Houston Ballet Foundation totaling $2.0M 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 Houston Ballet Foundation's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Houston Ballet Foundation, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

Report a correction Respond as Houston Ballet Foundation How this works

Similar-sized charities in this cause

Florida West Coast Symphony Inc dba Sarasota Orchestra
Sarasota, FL · revenue $42M · programs 76.5% · FY2025
Artis-Naples
Naples, FL · revenue $42M · programs 74.6% · FY2025
Peace Center Foundation
Greenville, SC · revenue $42M · programs 90.8% · FY2025
The Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe, NM · revenue $42M · programs 77.5% · FY2025
Dia Center for the Arts
New York, NY · revenue $42M · programs 76.3% · FY2025

All arts, culture & humanities charities · Largest charities in Texas

Questions people ask

How much of Houston Ballet Foundation's spending goes to programs?

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Houston Ballet Foundation reported that 82.5% of its $42.0 million in expenses went to program services, 6.9% to management and general and 10.6% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Houston Ballet Foundation pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Houston Ballet Foundation reported for one person in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 was $650,352, for the role of ARTISTIC DIRECTOR (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Houston Ballet Foundation get its money?

Of $42.0 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, 38.1% came from contributions and grants (including 2.6% from government grants) and 42.7% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Houston Ballet Foundation a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 74-1394920 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 June 30, 2025, object 202621059349301307 · read the filing · XML
FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, object 202521189349301022 · read the filing
FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, object 202411359349313061 · read the filing
FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, object 202321049349300322 · read the filing
FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, object 202211369349313321 · read the filing
FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, object 202110829349301466 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 74-1394920: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.