Billie Holiday Theatre Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
112336154
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
7186366949
Rating
93
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,152,987
Expenses
$2,935,084
Assets
$1,752,107
Liabilities
$359,133

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Blondel Pinnock (Director)
  • Colvin Grannum (Director)
  • Toni Yuille-William (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The goal of the Billie Holiday Theatre is to provide audiences with complete and authentic portrayals of the experiences of people of African descent across the world. To provide artists of African descent pure and unapologetic artistic freedom. We do this by producing and presenting all forms of art, and by challenging unjust systems that would prevent artists, institutions, and communities full access to world-class arts, creative spaces, and resources.

What it reported doing in 2024

Artistic Programming & Education: BHT instituted two new programs: Billie & Beyond and Black Narrative. Billie & Beyond is a four part music series spotlighting emerging and mid-professional female singers and musicians. This dynamic music series has become a community favorite. Black Narrative is a biannual theatre series in which BHT partners with local collectives and organizations to produce and curate staged readings, multiperformance art, and conversations. This series allows BHT to remain as a creative voice in theater. We continued our annual EVIDENCE performance, SummerFest programming, and so much more.In the visual arts world, BHT continued with its RESISTANCE exhibition series and received high praise for its new exhibition series, which began with We Love You, Black Woman.In FY25, the Youth Arts Academy (YAA) engaged approximately 100 students from New York City public schools through a diverse range of arts classes, including Drama, Drumming, Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary Modern, Break Dance, Hip Hop Dance, and West African Dance (Guinea and Sabar styles). For young dancers aged 3 to 5, we offered a Pre-Ballet class that introduced foundational ballet techniques while nurturing creativity and a passion for movement. For youth ages 12 to 18, we continued our highly regarded, audition-based Pre-Professional Training Program (PPTP), which features rigorous technique classes designed to prepare students for college-level and professional auditions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 58% for direct work, and 42% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 96
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.7%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $796.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -154.6%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.