Ohio · Nonprofit
LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION
LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION (Ohio) receives grants from 20 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,160,716 to it, the largest being GREATER COLUMBUS ARTS COUNCIL ($1,293,274). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.9M
- Funders on record
- 20
- Grants received
- $2.2M
- Net assets
- $11M
What Lincoln Theatre Association does
Mission
The mission of the Lincoln Theatre Association is to serve as the steward of the historic landmark theatre, as an incubator for talented, emerging artists in our community, as a presenter of the highest quality artists from around the world, and as a creative partner that is an economic catalyst for the revitalization of the king-lincoln district and downtown columbus.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The Lincoln Theatre Association (lta) operates the historic lincoln theatre, located in the king-lincoln district of columbus, ohio. The operation of the lincoln theatre includes managing rentals of the theatre, rehearsal and ballroom spaces. Lta staff also oversee the office and education spaces. The activity objectives are to support emerging and established local artists and arts organizations during space rentals, providing additional ticketing and marketing support in specific situations. During fy25, over 27,000 people attended in-person events, concerts, lectures, and educational programs that took place at the lincoln theatre.
$1,455,054 spent$388,414 earned by the program85% of program spendingLta provides education programs for people of all ages, from professional artists to children experiencing their first art class. Our free programs for local, professional artists included one-day workshops and a full-year intensive. Our objective is to provide knowledge and support essential to sustaining a career in the arts. In fy25, lta worked with 67 professional artists during educational programs. Lta also engaged our community in celebration and conversation through two free public events. Our annual walk of fame honors those who have made an important contribution to ohio. The 2025 walk of fame, held on july 27, 2024 paid tribute to columbus artist elijah pierce, the architect moody nolan and the architecture firm hardlines design company. Lta's community conversation series is a community discussion around an arts topic featuring a panel of distinguished experts with an audience q&a. In march 2025, the lta hosted a community conversation entitled "four women - maya, abbey, lorraine, and nina". The objective for walk of fame and community conversations is to educate the public about issues important to artists and to celebrate artists working in our community. The largest…
$118,669 spent$218,837 earned by the program7% of program spendingLta's public programs held in fy25 featured local artists during 19 concerts held in multiple spaces throughout the lincoln theatre. The artists who performed in our concert series included musicians, vocalists, spoken word artists, dancers, and djs. The backstage at the lincoln concert series showcased local artists in an intimate setting, placing audience members on the stage of the lincoln with the performers. The club lincoln concert series featured emerging artists and took place in the theatre's second-floor ballroom. Jazz on the mezz was added as a new, annual concert series. The wine down lincoln patio jazz series took place from may to september 2024 and featured jazz musicians on the lincoln theatre's outdoor patio. The objective for all lta concert series is to support and feature local artists, especially those at the start of their careers.
$133,804 spent$68,424 earned by the program8% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,707,527.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2017 to 2018, from $12M to $12M (+6%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 11% · 2018 55% · 2019 12% · 2020 16% · 2021 35% · 2022 45% · 2023 27% · 2024 25% · 2025 32%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 12 funders, grant income rose $39k → $425k.
3 of 20 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 17% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 60% of grant income and the top three 82%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
86% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 77% · 2018 91% · 2019 58% · 2020 41% · 2021 48% · 2022 55% · 2023 46% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
45% of LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 65% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
91% of LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION's grant income comes from Ohio funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $366k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Government funding LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $130k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$130k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
91% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
59%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 6 related entities
- Columbus Association for the Performing Arts · exempt
- Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts · exempt
- The Columbus Association for the Southern Theatre · exempt
- Capa Properties LLC · partnership
- Palace Theatre Mt · partnership
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION?
- LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION (Ohio) receives grants from 20 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,160,716 to it, the largest being GREATER COLUMBUS ARTS COUNCIL ($1,293,274). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION have?
- IRS filings report 20 organizations giving $2,160,716 in grants to LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION, 13 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION?
- GREATER COLUMBUS ARTS COUNCIL is the largest funder on record, with $1,293,274 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like LINCOLN THEATRE ASSOCIATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Lincoln Theatre Association →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 20 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing