California College of the Arts is a 501(c)(3) organization based in San Francisco, California, registered in 1938, with $107,062,208 in FY2023 revenue. CharityIndex grades it B+, and it directs about 81% of spending to programs.
Revenue (FY2023)
$107.1M
▼ 0.1% vs prior year
Education median: $200K
Expenses (FY2023)
$109.5M
Net assets
$151.4M
Employees
1,325
Measures how much of every dollar spent actually reaches programs, plus what it costs to raise $100 of donations. The worse of the two measures sets the letter (85%+ to programs is an A; under $15 to raise $100 is an A), averaged over the three most recent filings. For California College of the Arts: 81% to programs · $17 to raise $100 earns a B+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Measures whether the organization is built to last: how many months its reserves would cover expenses (3+ months earns an A-range score, but hoarding 5+ years of budget is capped) and whether it runs a surplus or a deficit. For California College of the Arts: 17 mo reserves · -2% margin earns a B+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Checks how the organization is run, from its own Form 990: an independent board majority, a board of five or more, conflict-of-interest, whistleblower and document-retention policies, and independently audited financials. The share of disclosed checks that pass sets the letter. For California College of the Arts: 6 of 6 checks met earns a A+ on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
Counts five disclosure signals: a recent filing, a mission statement, program descriptions, a listed website, and the full expense breakdown. More disclosure, better letter. For California College of the Arts: 4 of 5 disclosure signals earns a A on this criterion. See the exact thresholds →
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To educate students of diverse backgrounds in areas of fine arts, architecture, design, & writing.
Revenue grew from $88.9M (FY2013) to $107.1M (FY2023) across 11 reported years.
Financial snapshot
Operating margin
-2.3%
Spent more than it raised in the latest fiscal year.
Total assets
$328.0M
Total liabilities
$176.6M
Net assets
$151.4M
Salaries & benefits
$51.1M
47% of expenses
Board members
34
34 independent
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets | Total assets | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $107,062,208▼0.1% | $109,474,661▼0.1% | $151,448,563▲0.4% | $328,001,796▲18.3% | 990 |
| 2022 | $107,178,646▼3.2% | $109,611,216▲4.1% | $150,842,901▼0.4% | $277,275,090▲38.3% | 990 |
| 2021 | $110,726,213▲2.8% | $105,264,730▲10.7% | $151,468,448▼2.7% | $200,486,637▼1.5% | 990 |
| 2020 | $107,701,190▼9.2% | $95,063,324▼12.7% | $155,737,206▲14.5% | $203,468,162▲10.9% | 990 |
| 2019 | $118,675,549▲5.6% | $108,864,304▼2.0% | $136,050,082▲8.2% | $183,435,750▲3.1% | 990 |
| 2018 | $112,334,450▼13.9% | $111,091,325▲7.4% | $125,743,486▲2.3% | $177,875,527▼1.3% | 990 |
| 2017 | $130,441,103▲24.5% | $103,432,333▲4.8% | $122,949,308▲30.6% | $180,157,775▲25.1% | 990 |
| 2016 | $104,760,242▲5.6% | $98,684,096▲4.0% | $94,124,977▲7.1% | $144,066,930▲0.8% | 990 |
| 2015 | $99,238,451▲8.8% | $94,917,244▲8.3% | $87,923,154▼5.1% | $142,866,577▼2.9% | 990 |
| 2014 | $91,246,639▲2.7% | $87,648,412▲6.3% | $92,611,371▲5.2% | $147,072,458▲3.7% | 990 |
| 2013 | $88,888,998 | $82,431,682▲5.3% | $88,024,663▲8.8% | $141,859,837▲4.5% | 990 |
| 2012 | — | $78,264,708▲3.2% | $80,913,720▲10.3% | $135,731,131▲5.8% | 990 |
| 2011 | — | $75,806,257▲10.0% | $73,329,052▲6.1% | $128,347,593▲5.9% | 990 |
| 2010 | — | $68,942,420▲8.8% | $69,085,589▲23.1% | $121,213,002▲11.9% | 990 |
| 2009 | — | $63,347,547 | $56,121,698 | $108,329,234 | 990 |
Original Form 990 PDFs (the Form column) are served by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, as filed with the IRS. Create a free account to download the CSV report.
Highest-paid: Stephen Beal — $503,711 (0.46% of total expenses)
| Name | Title | Hours/week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Beal | President (thru 12/31/23) | 37.5 | $503,711 |
| Tammy Rae Carland | Provost | 37.5 | $300,120 |
| Mara Hancock | Coo/cio/senior Vp, Ops | 37.5 | $269,435 |
| Scott Cline | Vp Enrollment Management | 37.5 | $255,682 |
| Suzanne Greva | Treasurer, Vp of Fin, Acct & Bus Svcs | 37.5 | $237,243 |
| Susan Avila | Senior Vp, Advancement | 37.5 | $220,759 |
| Tricia Brand | Vice President, Deib | 37.5 | $216,501 |
| Leigh Sata | Vp, Chief Info. Officer | 37.5 | $199,968 |
| Helen Marie Nugent | Dean of Design | 37.5 | $191,098 |
| George Sedano | Vp, Student Affairs | 37.5 | $182,090 |
| Maira Lazdins | Vp, Human Resources | 37.5 | $171,088 |
| David Howse | President | 37.5 | $47,946 |
| Aaron Gensler | Trustee | 1 | — |
| Abby Sadin Schair | Trustee | 1 | — |
| Alyssa Warnock | Trustee (thru 3/1/24) | 1 | — |
| Ann Morhauser | Trustee | 1 | — |
| Byron D Kuth | Trustee | 1 | — |
| Calvin B Wheeler Md | Trustee | 1 | — |
| Carina Wong | Trustee | 1 | — |
| Carl Bass | Trustee | 1 | — |
| Contractor | Services | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Vartain Law Group | Legal Services | $253,542 |
| Hood & Strong LLP | Audit/tax Services | $219,900 |
| Ruffalocody Holding LLC | Consulting & Professional Services | $143,426 |
| Melichar Consulting | Consulting & Professional Services | $121,000 |
91 grants to California College of the Arts totaling $37.9M, reported by foundations on their Schedule I filings — showing the 15 most recent.
| Grantmaker | Purpose | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc | Unrestricted general support | 2024 | $57,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation | Education | 2024 | $41,000 |
| Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund For Wealth Management Inc | Education | 2024 | $20,000 |
| Minneapolis Foundation | Donor advised, education | 2024 | $16,000 |
| American Online Giving Foundation Inc | General support | 2024 | $10,510 |
| American Endowment Foundation | Educational | 2024 | $10,000 |
| Donor Advised Charitable Giving | Education | 2023 | $6,994,850 |
| National Philanthropic Tr | Religion | 2023 | $1,615,000 |
| Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund | For grant recipient's exempt purposes | 2023 | $317,700 |
| Jewish Community Federation of S F Marin Peninsula & Sonoma Counties | Arts/culture/humanities | 2023 | $221,500 |
| American Endowment Foundation | Arts, culture | 2023 | $120,000 |
| Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program | For recipient's exempt purpose | 2023 | $111,538 |
| San Francisco Foundation | To distribute the cadogan awards. for scholarship support, as specified. for an honorarium for a deserving faculty member of the institute. to support double ground. for the stephen beal scholarship. for the stephen beal scholarship fund. for the jack and susy wadsworyh scholarship. for project support. for general support. | 2023 | $95,400 |
| Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc | Unrestricted general support | 2023 | $37,000 |
| East Bay Community Foundation | General endowment, leo & florence helzel scholarship fund | 2023 | $26,000 |
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Data for California College of the Arts (EIN 94-1156485) comes from the IRS Business Master File and e-filed Form 990 returns, via CharityIndex. Figures reflect what the organization reported to the IRS for each fiscal year.