Brooklyn Free Space Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 113147591
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7189653135
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,020,929
- Expenses
- $1,691,615
- Assets
- $1,596,993
- Liabilities
- $191,138
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
People named in this filing
- David Heales (Board Chair)
- Amy Brito (Secretary)
- Rob Van Es (Treasurer)
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
Brooklyn free space is a private, cooperative preschool that fulfills the needs of young children by offering them age-appropriate experiences that enhance their growth and social/emotional development. We believe that learning through play is at the heart of learning for the preschool child, and we provide this educational philosophy in a warm, child-centered and family-friendly environment.
What it reported doing in 2024
A cooperative nondenominational preschool. The organization also provides before school, after school and summer camp programs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 64% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 61
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 61.4%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 73.7%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd 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: 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 16.3%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.94; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 61.4% of revenue deployed · 73.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.