Creative Dance Center
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Connecting body and mind to transform lives through dance.
- Income
- $581,996
- Spending
- $627,069
- Spent on programs
- 72%
- Reserves
- 6.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 70%
- Employees
- 30
- Volunteers
- 50
- Highest pay
- $91,723, cdc director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 53% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 6.2 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 19% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 8% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 3% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1572% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 23 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 91 out of 100. Higher than 79% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 11 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
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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 June 30, 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)
- $316,371 spent. The Creative Dance Center is known locally, nationally, and internationally for innovative teaching methods and the BrainDance. Inclusive programming for all ages and abilities includes Nurturing Baby, Caregiver/Toddler, Caregiver/Child, Early Childhood, Children and Teen, and Adult classes, including classes for seniors/elders, and Adaptive BrainDance for youth and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Classes include creative dance, modern, ballet, and hip hop. Summer programming included multi-arts camps and a Teen Intensive sharing culturally diverse dance forms. Educator/Community Workshops offered professional development and personal enrichment for adults. CDC began sharing free dance with Mary's Place in 2016 - Mary's Place provides shelter and helps women and families move out of homelessness into more stable situations. A CDC teaching artist brought dance to children in two Mary's Place locations as part of their Tots and Kids Clubs programming, which aims to reduce trauma and provide a safe place for children. Creative Dance Center is on the Community Arts Roster for the Creative Advantage, a partnership of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and Seattle Public Schools. During the 2024-2025 school year, CDC partnered with Wedgwood and Bryant Elementary schools, and CDC teaching artists taught dance to grades K-5 through the Creative Advantage program. CDC also provided weekly dance classes to grades K-1 during the school year at the French American School of Puget Sound. Scholarships and tuition assistance were provided to families and students who would not be able to access CDC programs otherwise. CDC is an institutional member of the National Dance Education Organization and Dance and the Child International.
- $108,470 spent. Kaleidoscope Dance Company is Creative Dance Center's resident modern dance company of youth ages 7-18. For the 2024-2025 season, twenty-seven children and teens were company members. The Gift of Dance Concert, featuring original choreography by Kaleidoscope dancers, was presented for three performances at the Erickson Theater in Seattle on December 7 and 8, 2024. Kaleidoscope Spring Concert, held May 9, 10, 11, 2025 at Broadway Performance Hall in Seattle, showcased the company in four performances over one weekend. Emergent, established, and BIPOC choreographers had their work seen by a wide audience. Youth choreography was also featured, amplifying artistic voices of children and teens. We offered free tickets to youth and family focused organizations to attend this concert, as well as elementary and middle school educators and educators working in the dance and arts sector. Ticket prices for seniors and youth are discounted. Scholarships and tuition assistance are given as needed to ensure that children and teens wishing to participate in the company have full access. Kaleidoscope performed an interactive, educational, and entertaining concert for local schools, Olympic View Elementary, John Rogers Elementary, and Bryant Elementary. Kaleidoscope also performed a series of free mini-concerts for participants in our Summer Dance Institute for Teachers, bringing learning to life for those educators. Kaleidoscope dancers participated in the Dance and the Child International (daCi) Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Financial aid was given to dancers who otherwise would not have been able to participate.
- $27,118 spent. The annual Summer Dance Institute for Teachers (SDIT) offers professional development and personal growth for educators, dance teachers, arts specialists, therapists, and more. This professional learning opportunity provides immersion in the teaching methods developed by CDC Founder, Anne Green Gilbert. These teaching methods are known as Brain-Compatible Dance Education. In July 2024, 36 participants from across the US, Canada, Germany, Belgium, and Australia took part in SDIT. Content included brain-compatible teaching methods for all ages, BrainDance, creative dance, modern, West African dance, curriculum integration, choreography, sequential and holistic lesson planning, inclusion and access, and best practices for classroom management. To increase accessibility, scholarships and financial aid were awarded to those requiring support in order to attend.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 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 June 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 February 1983.
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.