BrightSide Theatre

What it reported doing in 2024

Brightside theatre (bst) enlightens, educates, and entertains through comedies and inspirational stories from across the globe. Presenting a unique blend of award-winners, premieres, modern works and timeless classics, our productions are meant to inform our community and provide opportunities for reflection.brightside theatre was granted 501(c)(3) status on november 20, 2009 and began programming in 2011. Bst is the only professional non-profit theatre company in naperville, Illinois, one of chicago's western suburbs. Bst provides unique opportunities for local, high-quality artistic experiences for community members of all ages. We strive to produce shows on an intimate scale that provide an escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life, inviting our audiences to laugh and sing along with us while they spend time with their families. Bst's annual season includes three full-scale mainstage productions, a musical theatre concert series, and, since 2020, a free summer in the parks series. In addition to our mainstage season, bst is committed to fostering the growth of young artists through our year-round bst youth project educational arts programs that support both academic and social development. In the upcoming season, bst youth project will offer summer camps, a fall and spring musical, and private vocal training.bst serves a growing audience of over 7,000 patrons annually, the majority of whom are from dupage county. We were recently honored with naperville magazine's award for best entertainment venue for seven years in a row and named best of the best in dupage county for arts and entertainment by glancer magazine in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Over the past year, participation in our youth programs has nearly doubled, engaging over 100 students ages 6-18. We are proud to consistently be the largest not-for-profit employer of local artists in naperville, most recently hiring more than 150 contracted artists for our 2024-25 season.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 64.8%; rating input score 65
• Program expense ratio: 75.7%; rating input score 76
• Fundraising efficiency: $11.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd 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: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 12.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 10.8%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 28.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings