Count Basie Center for the Arts

What it reported doing in 2024

The Count Basie Center for the Arts continues to persevere in its mission to create shared educational, artistic, and community experiences that ignite curiosity, understanding, and joy. Our responsive, inclusive programming continued to reflect the diverse spirit and aspirations of Basie Center patrons, students, artists and staff, welcoming them to participate as their most authentic selves. In FY2025, all facets of the Count Basie Center Academy - now renamed in honor of philanthropists Fran and Paul Turner - finally joined beneath one roof as part of the Grunin Arts Education Building. The Academy welcomed nearly 1,500 students in FY2025, engaging them with a variety of experiences - from mainstage productions like "Something Rotten", "Shrek The Musical Jr.", plus Disney's "The Jungle Book"Newies", - to acting, dancing and vocal lessons, instruction in auditioning for television and film, and more. At the Count Basie Center Conservatory of Music, 473 students received regular instruction in piano, classical guitar, woodwinds, strings and other instruments, in addition to group experiences such as ensembles and orchestra. In FY2025, 345 students were scholarship recipients. Providing these scholarships and continuing to remove barriers to participation in the arts is a hallmark of the Basie Center's Forever For Everyone endowment campaign, which has raised more than $17 million towards its $20m goal. 'Forever For Everyone also supports the Basie Center Fund for Strategic Growth, which Provides funds to launch new programs, especially those which deepen our commitment to cultural competency, racial equity, and social inclusion. In line with our continued focus on promoting community and internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, the Count Basie Center continued its efforts to train staffers to conduct DEI onboarding efforts, continued its partnership with Two River Theater to train and maintain a bilingual workforce, and continued implementations as recommended by the staff-wide DEI Task Force. Our DEI work helps inform the ways in which we engage the community through our performing arts and education programs, including events celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Cinco de Mayo and Dia de los Muertos. 50+ area students participated in the annual, free Louis and Gia Maria Prima Music Camp, with many of these students having never previously picked up a musical instrument. The Count Basie Center Gospel Choir headlined Basie Center stages and numerous public events, while our partners with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company continued its onsite classes and performances in promotion of traditional Mexican folkloric dance. In September 2024, the Basie Center held its first-ever Hispanic Film Festival, drawing fans, industry leaders and aspiring film and acting professionals to Basie Center Cinemas for three days of screenings, talkbacks and career workshops. The Basie Center's Breakthrough Filmmakers Fest, celebrating the state's growing community of amateur filmmakers, saw a flurry of submissions, while expanding into a year-long effort with a series of online workshops / seminars and screenings, culminating with the annual onsite festival, allowing students to see their work on the big screen while meeting and networking industry professionals. Phoenix Productions, the Basie's community theatre company, presented five mainstage presentations ("School Of Rock", "West Side Story", "Elf: The Musical", "Kinky Boots"The Color Purple"), plus productions of Bat Boy: The Musical and Peter and the Starcatcher at The Vogel. The Color Purple, featuring Phoenix's first-ever all-Black cast, took home Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Lead Actress, Outstanding Supporting Actress, Outstanding Scenic Design and Outstanding Costume Design at the New Jersey Community Theatre Association's annual Perry Awards. FY2025 was a profitable year for the company, which continues to raise the bar on accessibility and inclusion for area actors, pit mus

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 80.9%; rating input score 81
• Program expense ratio: 85.9%; rating input score 86
• Fundraising efficiency: $4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 7.9%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.87; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 7.1%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings