The Founder's Trap
The Founder's Trap
Market
Archetype
Mechanical
Natural
Tier
Developing
Trajectory Thumbprint
The Founder's Trap
What does this mean?
10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.
The Path Forward
The Dispersal
Forces succession planning and structural maturity. It requires raising capacity-building funds to decouple the organization's survival from the founder's personal sacrifice.
The Dispersal
Institutional Health Scores
5-yr trend: The Founder's Trap ↑
Overall
51
Score
Governance
58
Score
Financial
40
Score
Program
60
Score
Title
-
Institutions
-
Avg Revenue
-
Risk Profile
Representative Institutions
Institutional Epochs
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Financial Era
Governance Era
Trajectory Era
Founders Trap
Historical Performance
| Year | Revenue | Top Comp | Comp % Rev | Score | Phase Label | Outlook | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | — | — | 1.6% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2022 | — | — | 1.4% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2021 | — | — | 5.7% | 54 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2020 | — | — | 3.2% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2019 | — | — | 5.3% | 46 | Financially Distressed | Decline Risk | |
| 2018 | — | — | 2.5% | 49 | Financially Distressed | Decline Risk | |
| 2017 | — | — | 2.4% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2016 | — | — | 2.6% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2015 | — | — | 2.0% | 53 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2014 | — | — | 1.2% | 53 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2013 | — | — | 2.6% | 53 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2012 | — | — | 2.3% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch |
Officer compensation history
Tax year 2023
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIANE NIXA | Board President | 1.1% of Rev | ||
| CHRIS SAGSTETTER | Treasurer | 0.9% of Rev | ||
| RODERIC KAATS | Artistic Director | 0.8% of Rev | ||
| ANDREW LUFT | Board Member | 0.6% of Rev | ||
| PAUL HATTOUNI | Board Member | 0.5% of Rev | ||
| LEAH DIXON | Board Member | 0.5% of Rev | ||
| CHRIS HARRINGTON | Executive Director | 0.3% of Rev | ||
| JENNIFER COATES | Board Member | — | ||
| AMANDA BRINKMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| TINA DEAR | Board Member | — | ||
| ELIZABETH LILLY | Board Member | — | ||
| DAN STOLTZ | Board Member | — | ||
| BILL JOHNSON | Board Member | — | ||
| BRAD WOOD | Board President | — | ||
| JENNIFER WOLF | Board Member | — | ||
| LAURA HALFERTY | Board Member | — | ||
| CHRISTINE SAND | Secretary | — | ||
| DAVID LILLY JR | Board Member | — | ||
| CRAIG SOLEM | Board Member | — | ||
| ERIC JOLLY | Board Member | — | ||
| DONNA HARRIS | Board Member | — | ||
| DOROTHEA BURNS | Board Member | — | ||
| CONRAD NGUYEN | Board Member | — | ||
| SCOTT KIRKLAND | Treasurer | — | ||
| DAVID KUPLIC | Board Member | — | ||
| RAJIV GARG | Board Member | — | ||
| TIM WELSH | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN ORDWAY | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN WOLAK | Board Member | — | ||
| GREG LANDMARK | Board Member | — | ||
| KIMBERLY RANDOLPH | Board Member | — | ||
| KEITH BRYAN | Board Member | — | ||
| MATT MAJKA | Board Member | — | ||
| HOLLI VANOVERBEKE | Board Member | — | ||
| MARK HENNEMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| MELISSA GILBERTSON | Board Member | — | ||
| PATRICK GARAY-HEELAN | Board President | — | ||
| MARY NEASE | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2022
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAMES DL GRANT | Executive Director | 1.1% of Rev | ||
| DIANE NIXA | Board President | 0.8% of Rev | ||
| CHRIS SAGSTETTER | Treasurer | 0.7% of Rev | ||
| RODERIC KAATS | Artistic Director | 0.7% of Rev | ||
| CHRISTINE DENNIS | Vice President | 0.6% of Rev | ||
| AMANDA BRINKMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| BILL JOHNSON | Board Member | — | ||
| BILL PARKER | Board President | — | ||
| BRAD WOOD | Board President | — | ||
| CHRISTINE SAND | Secretary | — | ||
| CONRAD NGUYEN | Board Member | — | ||
| CRAIG SOLEM | Board Member | — | ||
| DAN STOLTZ | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID KUPLIC | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID LILLY JR | Board Member | — | ||
| DAWN BLOCK | Board Member | — | ||
| DIANE AWSUMB | Board Member | — | ||
| DONNA HARRIS | Board Member | — | ||
| DOROTHEA BURNS | Board Member | — | ||
| ELIZABETHER LILLY | Board Member | — | ||
| ERIC JOLLY | Board Member | — | ||
| GREG LANDMARK | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN ORDWAY | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN WOLAK | Board Member | — | ||
| KEITH BRYAN | Board Member | — | ||
| KIMBERLY RANDOLPH | Board Member | — | ||
| LAURA HALFERTY | Board Member | — | ||
| MARK HENNEMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| MARY NEASE | Board Member | — | ||
| MATT MAJKA | Board Member | — | ||
| PATRICK GARAY-HEELAN | Board President | — | ||
| RAJIV GARG | Board Member | — | ||
| SCOTT KIRKLAND | Treasurer | — | ||
| TIM WELSH | Board Member | — | ||
| VICTORIA MIRANDA | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2021
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James DL Grant | Executive Director | 1.7% of Rev | ||
| Diane Nixa | Board President | 0.9% of Rev | ||
| Christine Dennis | Vice President | 0.7% of Rev | ||
| Christine Sagstetter | Chief Financial Officer | 0.7% of Rev | ||
| Roderic Kaats | Artistic Director | 0.7% of Rev | ||
| Toya Stewart Downey | Executive Director | 0.6% of Rev | ||
| Wendall Bell | Head Sound Engineer | 0.6% of Rev | ||
| David Kuplic | Treasurer | — | ||
| Bill Parker | Board President | — | ||
| Rajiv Garg | Secretary | — | ||
| Diane Awsumb | Board Member | — | ||
| Dorothea Burns | Board Member | — | ||
| Traci Egly | Board Member | — | ||
| Patrick Garay-Heelan | Board Member | — | ||
| Mary Halferty | Board Member | — | ||
| Donna Harris | Board Member | — | ||
| Mark Henneman | Board Member | — | ||
| Bill Johnson | Board Member | — | ||
| Eric Levinson | Board Member | — | ||
| David Lily Jr | Board Member | — | ||
| Marcia Morris | Board Member | — | ||
| Mary Nease | Board Member | — | ||
| Conrad Nguyen | Board Member | — | ||
| Nancy Nicholson | Board Member | — | ||
| Christine Sand | Board Member | — | ||
| Dan Stoltz | Board Member | — | ||
| John Wolak | Board Member | — | ||
| Brad Wood | Board President | — | ||
| Daniel Wrigley | Board Member | — | ||
| Dawn Block | Board Member | — | ||
| Kimberly Randolph | Board Member | — | ||
| Amanda Brinkman | Board Member | — | ||
| Keith Bryan | Board Member | — | ||
| Scott Kirkland | Board Member | — | ||
| Lucy Clark Dougherty | Board Member | — | ||
| Greg Landmark | Board Member | — | ||
| Craig Solem | Board Member | — | ||
| Scott Anderson | Board Member | — | ||
| Elizabether Lilly | Board Member | — |
Officer contact details, exact compensation figures, and active litigation are available to verified members.
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Score breakdown
Score breakdown
Financial resilience
40 / 100
weight 40%
Governance risk
58 / 100
weight 40%
Program scale
60 / 100
weight 20%
Overall
51 / 100
Developing
The three components combine into a single 0–100 score weighted as shown. Full methodology →
Peer comparison
Compared to 174 other orgs in MN with NTEE prefix A6.
Most-divergent component: program score sits 29 points above the peer median (60 vs. 31).
5-year trend: The Founder's Trap
10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.
Overall score has gone from 46 → 51 over 5 years (improving by 5 points).
What's driving this score
- Comp-to-revenue ratio of 1.6% sits within the sector's healthy band (18–22%).
What would change this score
No specific high-impact levers identified — this org's score is balanced across components.
Improving governance is a board decision. These are the levers.