Berks Arts

Legal name: Berks Arts Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237366925
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Reading, PA, US
Phone
6108981930
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Council/Agency

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,849,270
Expenses
$2,135,018
Assets
$966,700
Liabilities
$560,035

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MIKE KUCZALA (PRESIDENT THROUGH MARCH)
  • GLENN FOX (TREASURER; PRESIDENT MAR-JUNE)
  • LEE OLSEN (PRESIDENT AS OF JULY)
  • JUSTIN HEIMBECKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THROUGH JUNE)
  • TISH DAVIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AS OF JUNE)

Highest reported compensation

  • TISH DAVIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AS OF JUNE): $99,656 total reported compensation
  • JUSTIN HEIMBECKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THROUGH JUNE): $57,172 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To Inspire, Engage, and Unite our shared community through the arts in innovative ways.

What it reported doing in 2024

Other programs - various workshops and programs designed to promote the arts and cultural activities in berks county. Events included special concerts and exibitions held throughout the year and for the holiday seasonarts roundtable: a bi-monthly program for local arts organizations and artists to meet, share ideas, discuss current trends/programs and funding. See additional information on schedule o.Pennsylvania partners in the arts: 30 creative sector flex fund grants totaling $150,000 and 30 grants totaling $60,000 for the creative entrepreneur accelerator program for business entrepreneurs in the creative industries.fast lane art: a celebration of public art and art education, in which berks arts works with local property owners to display student artwork in unique public settings.summer fest: arts partners with first energy stadium and the city of reading and county of berks to host free weekend of community concerts and activities for children each summer at the reading phillies home stadium.beginning in january 2022, a partnership was formed with music educators of berks county (mebc) for berks arts to produce/present scholastic music festivals for the cohort of teachers, resulting in performance opportunities for more than 1,200 students grades 6- 12 countywide in the areas of band, chorus, and orchestra.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.5%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.