The Poetry Society of New York

Legal name: Poetry Society of New York Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
473108566
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
3472602847
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$248,150
Expenses
$266,832
Assets
$34,674
Liabilities
$22,322

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHANIE BERGER (CHAIR, TREASURER & C.E.O.): $48,700 total reported compensation
  • JACQUELYN BRAJE (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $43,600 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 Poetry Society of New York is a 501(c)3 artist-led nonprofit that creates fun, innovative poetry experiences. Our mission is to bring the transformative impact of poetry to those seeking a more creative life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Poetry festival - a two-day New York city poetry festival on nyc governor's island. Festivals are free to attend and they feature poetry readings by approximately 250 poets, open mic poetry readings, and a children's festival where children can participate in various poetry-related activities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 71
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.1%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 56.7%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.5%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.13; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.64; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 34.6%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 15 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 61.1% of revenue deployed · 56.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $151K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $49K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.