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
55
Score
Governance
58
Score
Financial
50
Score
Program
60
Score
Title
-
Institutions
-
Avg Revenue
-
Risk Profile
Representative Institutions
Institutional Epochs
2010
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Hidden | Hidden | — | — | Unknown | — | |
| 2023 | Hidden | Hidden | 1.6% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2022 | — | — | 1.5% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2021 | — | — | 1.6% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2020 | — | — | 4.6% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2019 | — | — | 4.1% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2018 | — | — | 4.6% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2017 | — | — | 5.5% | 54 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2016 | — | — | 4.0% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2015 | — | — | 5.8% | 54 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2014 | — | — | 4.4% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2013 | — | — | 6.0% | 52 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2012 | — | — | 5.7% | 50 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2011 | — | — | 4.1% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch |
Officer compensation history
Tax year 2025
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JACK BECKER | Executive Director | 2.1% of Rev | ||
| TAYLOR J ACOSTA | Artistic Director | 0.6% of Rev | ||
| ELIZABETH A POWELL | Treasurer | 0.5% of Rev | ||
| NANCY ROUND | Board Member | 0.4% of Rev | ||
| AMY RUMMEL | DIR. OF MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS | 0.4% of Rev | ||
| H DELE DAVIES MD | Board President | — | ||
| WALLACE R WEITZ | Board President | — | ||
| DUSTY DAVIDSON | Treasurer | — | ||
| KIRK KELLNER | Board President | — | ||
| KELLY THEDINGER | Board Member | — | ||
| LANCE LARSEN | Board Member | — | ||
| SUSAN LEBENS | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN P NELSON | Board Member | — | ||
| LISA MSMITH | Board Member | — | ||
| ROBERT SCHLOTT | Board Member | — | ||
| HARLEY SCHRAGER | Board Member | — | ||
| STACY SIMON | Board Member | — | ||
| FRED HUNZEKER | Board Member | — | ||
| DIANE LANDEN | Board Member | — | ||
| MARY D DAUGHERTY | Board Member | — | ||
| JUDI GAIASHKIBOS | Board Member | — | ||
| JULIE FRITZ | Board Member | — | ||
| RAE DYER | Board Member | — | ||
| HENRY DAVIS | Board Member | — | ||
| SYLVIA B COHN | Board Member | — | ||
| TIFFANY WHITE-WELCHEN | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID WIESMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| KENNY ROCKER | Board Member | — | ||
| PAUL G SMITH | Board Member | — | ||
| CRAIG STARR | Board Member | — | ||
| KRISSY HAMM | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2023
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JACK BECKER | Executive Director | 1.6% of Rev | ||
| ELIZABETH A POWELL | Treasurer | 0.5% of Rev | ||
| STACY SIMON | CHAIRMAN | — | ||
| KIRK KELLNER | VICE CHAIRMAN | — | ||
| WALLACE R WEITZ | VICE CHAIRMAN | — | ||
| LISA MSMITH | Treasurer | — | ||
| LYNNE D BOYER | Board Member | — | ||
| SYLVIA B COHN | Board Member | — | ||
| MARY D DAUGHERTY | Board Member | — | ||
| DUSTY DAVIDSON | Board Member | — | ||
| H DELE DAVIES MD | Board Member | — | ||
| HENRY DAVIS | Board Member | — | ||
| RAE DYER | Board Member | — | ||
| JULIE FRITZ | Board Member | — | ||
| JUDI GAIASHKIBOS | Board Member | — | ||
| FRED HUNZEKER | Board Member | — | ||
| DIANE LANDEN | Board Member | — | ||
| LANCE LARSEN | Board Member | — | ||
| SUSAN LEBENS | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN P NELSON | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID ROGERS | Board Member | — | ||
| BOB SCHLOTT | Board Member | — | ||
| HARLEY SCHRAGER | Board Member | — | ||
| PAUL G SMITH | Board Member | — | ||
| CRAIG STARR | Board Member | — | ||
| KELLY THEDINGER | Board Member | — | ||
| TIFFANY WHITE-WELCHEN | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID WIESMAN | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2022
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JACK BECKER | Executive Director | 2.0% of Rev | ||
| HILLARY NATHER-DETISCH | Board Member | 0.5% of Rev | ||
| ELIZABETH A POWELL | Treasurer | 0.4% of Rev | ||
| DIANE LANDEN | Board Member | — | ||
| LANCE LARSEN | Board Member | — | ||
| SUSAN LEBENS | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN P NELSON | Board Member | — | ||
| KYLE ROBINO | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID ROGERS | Board Member | — | ||
| BOB SCHLOTT | Board Member | — | ||
| HARLEY SCHRAGER | Board Member | — | ||
| CRAIG STARR | Board Member | — | ||
| KELLY THEDINGER | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID WIESMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| DUSTY DAVIDSON | Board Member | — | ||
| PAUL G SMITH | Board Member | — | ||
| STACY SIMON | CHAIRMAN | — | ||
| WALLACE R WEITZ | Secretary | — | ||
| LISA SMITH | Treasurer | — | ||
| LYNNE D BOYER | Board Member | — | ||
| SYLVIA B COHN | Board Member | — | ||
| MARY D DAUGHERTY | Board Member | — | ||
| H DELE DAVIES MD | Board Member | — | ||
| HENRY DAVIS | Board Member | — | ||
| RAE DYER | Board Member | — | ||
| JULIE FRITZ | Board Member | — | ||
| KIRK KELLNER | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2021
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JACK BECKER | Executive Director | 1.5% of Rev | ||
| HILLARY NATHER-DETISCH | Board Member | 0.5% of Rev | ||
| ELIZABETH A POWELL | Treasurer | 0.4% of Rev | ||
| BOB SCHLOTT | Board Member | — | ||
| HARLEY SCHRAGER | Board Member | — | ||
| CRAIG STARR | Board Member | — | ||
| KELLY THEDINGER | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID WIESMAN | Board Member | — | ||
| PAUL G SMITH | CHAIRMAN | — | ||
| WALLACE R WEITZ | Secretary | — | ||
| STACY SIMON | VICE CHAIRMAN | — | ||
| LISA SMITH | Treasurer | — | ||
| LYNNE D BOYER | Board Member | — | ||
| SYLVIA B COHN | Board Member | — | ||
| MARY D DAUGHERTY | Board Member | — | ||
| H DELE DAVIES MD | Board Member | — | ||
| HENRY DAVIS | Board Member | — | ||
| RAE DYER | Board Member | — | ||
| JULIE FRITZ | Board Member | — | ||
| KIRK KELLNER | Board Member | — | ||
| DIANE LANDEN | Board Member | — | ||
| LANCE LARSEN | Board Member | — | ||
| SUSAN LEBENS | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN P NELSON | Board Member | — | ||
| KYLE ROBINO | Board Member | — | ||
| DAVID ROGERS | 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
50 / 100
weight 40%
Governance risk
58 / 100
weight 40%
Program scale
60 / 100
weight 20%
Overall
55 / 100
Developing
The three components combine into a single 0–100 score weighted as shown. Full methodology →
Peer comparison
Fewer than 3 peers found in NE for this NTEE subcategory; peer comparison would not be statistically meaningful.
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.
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.