Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
562630951
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
7184184405
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,040,035
Expenses
$898,326
Assets
$822,494
Liabilities
$444,906

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JONAH BOKAER (FOUNDING DIR): $30,131 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

An artistic/cultural organization to promote public appreciation of contemporary artistic dance performances and foster the development, research and presentation of new multi-disciplinary performance works.

What it reported doing in 2024

4b) chez bushwick studio chez bushwick, our first of many affordable artspaces (2002), is situated at 304 boerum street 23, in brooklyn's 34th district. The space remains consistently, sustainably dedicated to supporting the local dance community through highly subsidized rehearsal rentals starting at 8/hour, made possible by generous funding from: andrew w. Mellon foundation , ford foundation, New York state council for the arts & department of cultural affairs (dca) cultural development fund in 2022, 15 artists were offered 14-week residencies dedicated to fostering the creation, development, and performance of new work by both emerging and mid-career choreographers. Our organization, with peer panel selection, provides artists up to 100 hours of rehearsal space during off- peak hours 7-11am and 7pm-12am, monthly peer forums, feedback, and a presentation of the new work developed during the residency. This new work may be presented in any form, at any stage of progress at the final showing. Annual artists-in-residence are curated through an open application process, and final selections are chosen by an independent panel of industry professionals. Applications were assessed based on existing exposure of the artist, the quality of the application, the work sample and the project proposed.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.5%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.6%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.92; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.54; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.5% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $712K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $30K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.