WASHINGTON DRAMA SOCIETY INC Charity Report

Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

WASHINGTON DRAMA SOCIETY INC

EIN 53-0246894 · Arts, Culture & Humanities (A650)

What they do

ENCOURAGEMENT of PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE ARTS, PARTICULARLY IN DRAMA; PROVIDING INSTRUCTION and EXPERIENCE IN, and THE FACILITIES FOR, EXPERIMENTATION and DEVELOPMENT of THE COMPOSITION and PRESENTATION of DRAMA and PERFORMING ARTS; and IMPROVEMENT of THE STANDARDS of PERFORMANCE of THE FOREGOING BY EDUCATION, RESEARCH and EXPERIMENTATION.

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check

Look at where the money went

Of every $100 spent, about $86.00 was reported for mission work. Use the spending picture below and ask what results that work produced.

Plain answer: A tax form cannot prove that a charity is doing good. It can show how the charity says it spent its money—and point out questions you should ask.

Basic facts we verified

IRS warning checkNo IRS revocation warning appears in this data.

Money report from 2024The charity has a recent tax report to read.

They explain their jobThe charity tells us what it is trying to do.

They name their leaders49 people are listed in the latest report.

You can reach themThey list contact information, so you can ask questions.

Money made simple

91.52%of revenue went to mission work86.0% of expenses · Program services

6.19%of revenue went to fundraising5.8% of expenses

$106.41spent for every $100 of revenueSpending was higher than revenue this year.

8.70%of revenue went to management and office costs8.2% of expenses

$4.10in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.

52.2%of its money came from giftsOther money may come from services or investments.

Ask these three easy questions

Who did you help? Ask for a recent story or report that shows real results.
What will my money do? Ask exactly what your gift will pay for.
Is this really the charity? Give only through its official website or confirmed phone number.

Worth asking: Expenses exceeded revenue by $1,808,028 this year. Ask whether that was planned or caused by a one-time event.

Pay context: The highest compensation shown in this filing is $605,976 for EDGAR DOBIE (PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER). Compare pay with organizations of similar size and complexity.

Bottom line: Do not decide from a name, mission statement, or tax status alone. Look at where the money went, then ask what changed, who was helped, and what your gift will do. YouCanGiveBack does not endorse or grade organizations.

Money

Financial picture

Tax year 2024

A plain-language look at the latest Form 990 figures available. These numbers help you ask better questions; they do not, by themselves, rate whether a charity is good or bad.

$100revenue

How each $100 of revenue was used

The large number compares each expense with revenue. The smaller number shows its share of total expenses.

Total reported revenue$28,220,542

Mission workProgram services$25,826,31991.52% of revenue86.0% of expenses

ManagementOffice and general costs$2,455,1098.70% of revenue8.2% of expenses

FundraisingAsking for donations$1,747,1426.19% of revenue5.8% of expenses

Total expenses$30,028,570106.41% of revenue

Expenses were greater than revenue, so the colored ring fills the available $100 and the total above 100% is shown below.

Has the pattern changed?

Colored bars = expense mix: how each year’s expenses were divided. Total expenses vs. revenue shows whether the charity spent less or more than it received. The current filing is first.

YearExpense mixDetails

2024CurrentExpense mix: 86.0% mission · 8.2% management · 5.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 106.41% of revenue

2023Expense mix: 83.1% mission · 9.8% management · 7.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 41.37% of revenue

2022Expense mix: 82.8% mission · 10.8% management · 6.5% fundraisingTotal expenses: 86.98% of revenue

2021Expense mix: 81.2% mission · 12.0% management · 6.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 114.31% of revenue

2020Expense mix: 75.0% mission · 17.2% management · 7.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 123.42% of revenue

2019Expense mix: 80.3% mission · 9.7% management · 10.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 138.75% of revenue

2018Expense mix: 82.0% mission · 9.5% management · 8.5% fundraisingTotal expenses: 129.11% of revenue

2017Expense mix: 85.2% mission · 7.6% management · 7.3% fundraisingTotal expenses: 117.35% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$28,220,542

Expenses$30,028,570

Annual shortfall $1,808,028 Expenses were higher than revenue for this filing year.

Reported spending amounts

Mission work means the Form 990 category called program services. These are reported accounting categories—not an independent measurement of results.

Mission work (program services)$25,826,319 · 86.0% of expenses

Management and office costs$2,455,109 · 8.2% of expenses

Fundraising$1,747,142 · 5.8% of expenses

See all reported dollar amounts

Revenue$28,220,542

Expenses$30,028,570

Assets$123,193,521

Income$33,165,917

Contributions$14,737,009

Mission work (program services)$25,826,319

Fundraising$1,747,142

Management and general$2,455,109

Stocks and bonds$5,972,126

Accounting fees$251,907

Investing fees$44,543

People

Leadership and board

Tax year 2024

Names, titles, time, and compensation below are reported by the organization on its Form 990.

People reported as paid

Person and titleCompensation

EDGAR DOBIEPRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER · 40 hrs/week $605,976Base $546,583 · Other $59,393

HANA SHARIFARTISTIC DIRECTOR · 40 hrs/week $476,057Base $466,821 · Other $9,236

SHONALI BURKECHIEF MARKETING OFFICER (TO 6/2024) · 40 hrs/week $185,659Base $185,440 · Other $219

RYAN MERKELCHIEF DEVEL. OFFICER (TO 11/2024) · 40 hrs/week $162,645Base $153,911 · Other $8,734

JOHN K MONNETTCONTROLLER/INTERIM DIRECTOR, FINANCE · 40 hrs/week $147,486Base $137,959 · Other $9,527

REGINALD WHITESENIOR ARTISTIC PRODUCER · 40 hrs/week $129,430Base $120,267 · Other $9,163

MARY ALICIA SELLSGENERAL MANAGER · 40 hrs/week $127,150Base $117,639 · Other $9,511

ALISON IRVINLEADERSHIP OFFICE MGR/SECRETARY · 40 hrs/week $98,698Base $98,339 · Other $359

JUDY LEVENTHALTREASURER/CFO (AS OF 8/2024) · 40 hrs/week $67,023Base $64,751 · Other $2,272

Compensation alone does not tell whether pay is reasonable. Consider the charity’s size, work, location, and results.

See everyone listed on the board or leadership roster (49)

EDGAR DOBIEPRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

HANA SHARIFARTISTIC DIRECTOR

SHONALI BURKECHIEF MARKETING OFFICER (TO 6/2024)

RYAN MERKELCHIEF DEVEL. OFFICER (TO 11/2024)

JOHN K MONNETTCONTROLLER/INTERIM DIRECTOR, FINANCE

REGINALD WHITESENIOR ARTISTIC PRODUCER

MARY ALICIA SELLSGENERAL MANAGER

ALISON IRVINLEADERSHIP OFFICE MGR/SECRETARY

JUDY LEVENTHALTREASURER/CFO (AS OF 8/2024)

RICK FROEHLICHVICE CHAIR

B THOMAS MANSBACHTRUSTEE

MICHAEL S STEELETRUSTEE

MICHELE G BERMANVICE CHAIR

MIGNON SMITHVICE CHAIR

NICHOLAS GOADVICE CHAIR

RAYMOND JANVIERTRUSTEE

ANTHONY COLEYTRUSTEE

RICHARD FEINSTEINTRUSTEE

RICHARD A NEWMANVICE CHAIR

LEE G RUBENSTEINLIFE TRUSTEE

RICKI KANTERTRUSTEE

ANDREW R AMMERMANTRUSTEE

ALETHIA JACKSONVICE CHAIR

STEPHENIE FOSTERVICE CHAIR

SUE HENRYVICE CHAIR

SUSAN CARTERVICE CHAIR

TIFFENY SANCHEZVICE CHAIR

VICKI HICKSVICE CHAIR

VICTORIA CLARKYOUNG PATRONS TRUSTEE

CATHERINE GUTTMAN-MCCABECHAIR

DAPHNE KWOKTRUSTEE

DAVID FISHERVICE CHAIR

DAVID B H MARTINVICE CHAIR

DAVID E SHIFFRINTRUSTEE

DEBORAH E BOWLESVICE CHAIR

DECKER ANSTROMIMMED. PAST CHAIR

DR DONALD WALLACE JONESTRUSTEE

CELANDRA DEANE-BESSVICE CHAIR

ELISSA LEONARDTRUSTEE

LINDA BAUMANNTRUSTEE

JAN ADAMSTRUSTEE

JEFFREY M BUSCHVICE CHAIR

JERI EPSTEINTRUSTEE

JILL MCGOVERNTRUSTEE

JOHN LYNHAMTRUSTEE

BETH NEWBURGER SCHWARTZLIFE TRUSTEE (TO 5/2025)

KAREN ZACARIASTRUSTEE

KRISTEN DONOGHUEVICE CHAIR

DANIEL L KORENGOLDTRUSTEE

About this charity

Recognized since: January 1960
Location: 1101 6TH ST SW, WASHINGTON, DC 20024-2605
County: District of Columbia
In care of: JUDY LEVENTHAL
Primary officer: JUDY LEVENTHAL, TREASURER/CFO

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Phone(202) 554-9066

Filing and classification

Latest tax year: 2024
Tax period began: July 1, 2024
Return type: 990
Tax preparer: CBIZ ADVISORS LLC
NTEE classification: Arts, Culture & Humanities (A650)