California · Nonprofit
THE CHANCE THEATER
THE CHANCE THEATER (California) receives grants from 16 organizations whose IRS filings report $933,840 to it, the largest being ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($499,050). 10 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 87% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.3M
- Funders on record
- 16
- Grants received
- $934k
- Net assets
- $2.8M
What The Chance Theater does
Mission
Chance theater's mission is to foster a more connected, compassionate, and creative community through shared experiences and storytelling.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
In 2024, chance theater engaged audiences with ticketed performances and membership subscriptions to a variety of productions, including: hedwig and the angry inch, tiny beautiful things, alma, sweeney todd: the demon barber of fleet street, gloria, fancy nancy the musical , jane austen's emma the musical, and fancy nancy: splendiferous christmas.
$871,273 spent$435,130 earned by the program80% of program spendingChance's speak up program empowers local teens--including those at risk and on the autism spectrum, as well as local veterans --to find their voices and share their unique stories throuh a theater workshop series. By giving them the opportunity to speak, we gain the chance to listen, building understanding that leads to greater empathy. Through this program, we strive to create a more connected, compassionate, and creative community. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, all participants receive full scholarships.
$98,972 spent$28,145 earned by the program9% of program spendingChance developmental work includes chance's on the radar (otr) new works program as well as booked-in events to partner with and host local arts organizations to present their own artistic programs. Chance's otr includes a script reading series, playwright residency, and commissioning program--all dedicated to supporting diverse new stories by emerging u.s. Playwrights. In 2024, we invited audiences to engage with the development process through ticketed events and subscriptions featuring the following new works: lipstick lobotomy, call your mother, boat show, tenderness and gratitude number four and boat show (2nd reading with updated script).
$80,948 spent$10,731 earned by the program7% of program spendingEquipment & space rentals; chance rents their space to outside organizations and individuals to use the bette aitken theater arts center. Rentals may include cripe or fyda-mar stage, classroom, and lobby space. Technical equipment is also rented as-needed for theatrical events, workshops, open mic nights, weddings, and various other events.
$41,647 spent$7,875 earned by the program4% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,092,840.
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 $1.5M to $2.5M (+62%).
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: 2018 1% · 2020 18% · 2021 58% · 2022 24% · 2023 5% · 2024 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
49% of THE CHANCE THEATER’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. 2 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.
Board chair
Bruce Goodrich
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 8 funders, grant income rose $44k → $151k.
7 of 16 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 87% 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 THE CHANCE THEATER’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
THE CHANCE THEATER leans on a few funders — its largest provides 53% of grant income and the top three 79%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
94% 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 THE CHANCE THEATER.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 67% · 2018 66% · 2019 73% · 2020 78% · 2021 77% · 2022 48% · 2023 33% — 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
33% of THE CHANCE THEATER's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% 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
87% of THE CHANCE THEATER's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $120k that is directly attributable, 82% of it comes from funders outside California, across 6 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $814k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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
THE CHANCE THEATER's revenue grew 49% between 2017 and 2024.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,136 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding THE CHANCE THEATER receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $120k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$120k
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 THE CHANCE THEATER
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
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
77%
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 THE CHANCE THEATER: 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 THE CHANCE THEATER?
- THE CHANCE THEATER (California) receives grants from 16 organizations whose IRS filings report $933,840 to it, the largest being ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($499,050). 10 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 87% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE CHANCE THEATER have?
- IRS filings report 16 organizations giving $933,840 in grants to THE CHANCE THEATER, 10 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE CHANCE THEATER?
- ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $499,050 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE CHANCE THEATER 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 Chance Theater →
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 16 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