California · Nonprofit
MUSICAL THEATRE WEST
MUSICAL THEATRE WEST (California) receives grants from 28 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,152,350 to it, the largest being PUBLIC CORP FOR THE ARTS OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH ($1,019,779). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $4.4M
- Funders on record
- 28
- Grants received
- $2.2M
- Net assets
- $5.3M
What Musical Theatre West does
Mission
Preserving musical theatre as a unique art form and enriching the cultural life of the community through the presentation of established musicals, development of new works, and youth enrichment programs.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Musical productions - the organization presents four live musical main stage shows and several smaller concert-style performances ''new works readings'' for the community throughout the year. Serves more than 80,000 patrons annually.
$3,377,405 spent$2,319,839 earned by the program93% of program spendingYouth education and outreach - this program brings the joy and magic of musical theater to over 18,000 children each year through special ''student matinees'' morning performances, in-school assemblies, library tours, classes, workshops, and the summer youth conservatory.
$267,912 spentof which $20,300 as grants7% of program spendingTravel club - during 2024, the organization took 121 travelers to new york to dine, sightsee, and experience great theater. Annually the travel club takes two trips to new york city. Then, every other year, to another destination in the u.s. Or abroad.
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,645,317.
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. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $4.3M to $5.9M (+38%).
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 1% · 2018 2% · 2019 1% · 2020 7% · 2021 64% · 2022 30% · 2023 5% · 2024 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
53% of MUSICAL THEATRE WEST’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 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.
Chief executive
Paul Garman
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 10 funders to 15 funders, grant income rose $83k → $345k.
7 of 28 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 19% 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 MUSICAL THEATRE WEST’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
MUSICAL THEATRE WEST leans on a few funders — its largest provides 47% of grant income and the top three 70%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
66% 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 MUSICAL THEATRE WEST.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 33% · 2018 38% · 2019 27% · 2020 30% · 2021 61% · 2022 36% · 2023 71% — growing more concentrated.
“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
39% of MUSICAL THEATRE WEST's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 71% 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
94% of MUSICAL THEATRE WEST's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $401k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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.
Against its field
MUSICAL THEATRE WEST holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 5,136 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,136 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like MUSICAL THEATRE WEST
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
96%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MUSICAL THEATRE WEST: 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 MUSICAL THEATRE WEST?
- MUSICAL THEATRE WEST (California) receives grants from 28 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,152,350 to it, the largest being PUBLIC CORP FOR THE ARTS OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH ($1,019,779). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does MUSICAL THEATRE WEST have?
- IRS filings report 28 organizations giving $2,152,350 in grants to MUSICAL THEATRE WEST, 20 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MUSICAL THEATRE WEST?
- PUBLIC CORP FOR THE ARTS OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH is the largest funder on record, with $1,019,779 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MUSICAL THEATRE WEST find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 Musical Theatre West →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 28 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing