Rattlestick Productions Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Rattlestick Theaters mission is to produce ambitious plays to inspire empathy and provoke conversation that will lead to positive social change.
- Income
- $2.1 million
- Spending
- $1.9 million
- Spent on programs
- 69%
- Reserves
- 2.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 79%
- Employees
- 168
- Volunteers
- 35
- Highest pay
- $103,549, artistic dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 71 out of 100.
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.1 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 18% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 10% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 86% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1569% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100.
Independent board
25 of 2514 of 15 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $1.3 million spent. From our historic West Village theater since 1992, Rattlestick has produced the first plays and early works of some of todays leading voices, including Annie Baker (The Aliens, Obie for Best New American Play), Bailey Williams and Emma Horwitz (Two Sisters Find A Box of Lesbian Erotica in the Woods), and Diana Oh (mylingerieplay). We are proud to make Rattlestick a place where some of our nations most celebrated playwrights feel safe to test their new ideas, including Dael Orlandersmith (Until the Flood), Ethan Lipton (We Are Your Robots), and Samuel D. Hunter (Lewiston/Clarkson, nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play).Rattlesticks annual activities are guided by three main programming anchors that re-imagine how we make new work and focus on the unique process each artist needs: PRODUCTIONS, a lineup of new theatrically expansive Off-Broadway plays by innovative theatermakers that are deepened by incubator workshops which adhere to bespoke development timelines shaped by the project as it grows; FELLOWSHIPS, four distinct programs dedicated to serving emerging playwrights and directors along with a new Director-in-Residence initiative launched in FY26; and WORKING ARTIST INITIATIVES which include the new Waverly Performance Studio, a program designed to give our audiences access to artists in process, the Global Forms Theater Festival, a platform for international and immigrant theater artists to share in-progress work, and Rattle On Artist Salons, artist-forward cultivation engagements organized around sharing the behind-the-scenes development process with our community. These programs together serve approximately 10,000 audience members and 500 artists annually.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending July 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 1992.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.