Blackstone River Theatre
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 050493733
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015
- Location
- Cumberland, RI, USA
- Phone
- 4017259272
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Performing Arts Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $251,839
- Expenses
- $404,451
- Assets
- $789,187
- Liabilities
- $80
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RUSSELL GUSETTI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- RUSSELL GUSETTI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $75,780 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of blackstone river theatre (brt) is to present the performing and visual arts; to offer arts education; and to preserve and support diverse traditions of music, dance, and visual arts with an emphasis on those groups that settled in Rhode Island's blackstone river valley.
What it reported doing in 2024
As a cultural arts center, the musical heritage of the blackstone valley, as well as world, roots music, and more have found a home at blackstone river theatre since 2000. In addition to weekly concert programming, brt offers occasional children's shows and participatory dances. Brt also features an art gallery of rotating work that showcases local artists. As an arts education center, brt offers the opportunity for members of the community to actively participate in the arts through heritage arts studio classes and workshops. Believing that the arts help cultures connect, blackstone river theatre is dedicated to improving arts awareness and providing performance and learning opportunities for diverse participants. As a community center, brt donates or affordably rents out its space for both public and private functions when its programming schedule allows. The traditional and folk arts, handed down from one generation to the next over time and place, are a powerful vehicle for conveying the legacy of a community. Giving a space for this to happen is core to the mission of blackstone river theatre.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 69% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 64
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 71%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -60.6%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.95; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 18.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 20% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 71% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $287K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $76K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 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.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.