Elbow Room
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Elbow Room is a community art studio and gallery focused on providing workspace, material support, mentorship, and meaningful exhibition and collaboration opportunities for artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We center the individual interests, needs, and goals of the artists we work with, and maintain an inclusive space for individuals and groups to develop an artistic practice and a shared creative community.
- Income
- $144,563
- Spending
- $169,284
- Reserves
- 2.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 75%
- Highest pay
- $17,342, codirector
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
We do not score finances when yearly spending is very small or the return has too little detail. The ratios stop meaning much at that size.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 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 (3)
- $58,191 spent. Studio Program - Our studio program provides studio space and material support for artists experiencing developmental disabilities. Through our studio program we were able to provide roughly 30 disabled artists with access to our community studio/gallery space in Southeast Portland. Elbow Room artists have access to the studio during open hours 5 days a week, where they have space to work on their creative projects and have access to an extensive collection of high quality art materials and art making tools as well as a small library of art books, computers and digital technology, tools for making music, and other resources. Additionally, our studio space houses an archive where artists can keep and maintain their portfolios of finished and accomplished work. Membership is free for Elbow Room artists, however a small membership fee is sometimes negotiated with the provider organizations facilitating services for them. The number here reflects half of our studio rent, insurance costs and other costs related to keeping the space open, organized, and usable, art supply and equipment costs, and a third of personnel costs (an approximation of the personnel cost to administrate and maintain our studio space and schedule).
- $68,603 spent. Gallery Program - Our gallery program is dedicated to creating exhibition, sales, and career opportunities for participating artists in Elbow Room's studio program. Elbow Room supports the careers of roughly 30 disabled artists. Our physical space hosts a small white walled gallery where we host innovative exhibitions and events. This year we were able to host two public exhibitions in our gallery as well as a massive holiday sale and open house in our studio. This year we were able to pay staff for the first time to host open gallery hours outside of our opening/closing events. We also sought out, found, and facilitated opportunities for artists in the broader arts community both locally and beyond Portland. Work by Elbow Room artists was placed in numerous outside exhibitions, including exhibitions in Philadelphia and New Jersey, and some newer artists to the program saw their work exhibited for the first time. Elbow Room staff tabled with artwork at various local events and for the second year in a row we were able to represent our artists in the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art's Time-Based Art festival. We were able to generate thousands of dollars in sales for 30 different disabled artists. Additionally, for our artists who make music, we were able to record and release two albums. Additionally, we expanded our online sales and began systematically putting work up for sale on our webstore. Included in the figure listed here are half the cost of our rent (June-December), which pays for our archive and gallery space, as well as the cost of framing, promotional materials, and gallery infrastructure. When we sell work on behalf of artists they split profits with Elbow Room according to a contract similar to (but more favorable than) typical gallery contracts. Revenue going to directly to Elbow Room from art sales is put back into services and used to support our art supply budget for the studio program. The figure included here includes artist payments, half the cost of our space rental, which houses our archive and gallery and makes exhibitions and sales possible, our expenses for exhibitions and music production (including framing and printed materials), and one third of our personnel costs (our employees spend approximately one third of their time on exhibitions and seeking opportunities for our artists).
- $13,575 spent. Artist Mentorship and Collaborative Opportunities - This year we continued our monthly visiting artist program, in which an artist from the community visits our space and hosts a workshop for Elbow Room artists. We were able to host 10 workshops this year. We also found opportunities for our artists to collaborate with our community. For example, a number of our artists were also able to engage in a paid collaboration with a local school district to design a signs and a communication board for a playground. The number here reflects the stipends paid for visiting artists, an estimate of the personnel time dedicated to administrating and facilitating these workshops and opportunities.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 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 December 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 September 2016.
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.