The Best Production Company Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
061427059
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021
Location
Norwich, CT, USA
Phone
8608862378
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Theater

Reported finances

Revenue
$633,531
Expenses
$215,178
Assets
$606,657
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSEPH STRAFACI (BOARD PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA BONO (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $26,000 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 organization is committed to providing high quality theatrical experiences that entertain audiences, educate students, and nurture and develop the local arts community. We strive to be a major catalyst for community involvement and revitalization through the arts.

What it reported doing in 2024

Local playwrights festival: as part of our commitment to fostering local talent and enriching the arts community, the local playwrights festival provides an invaluable platform for emerging and established local writers to present their original plays to the public. With over 150 attendees, the festival not only celebrated local storytelling but also encouraged dialogue and collaboration within the arts. The program serves as a crucial step in the development of new works, with the potential for select plays to advance to full-scale production. This initiative underscores our dedication to nurturing artistic voices and contributing to the growth of performing arts in our region.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 83% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 34
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 22.1%; rating input score 22
  • Program expense ratio: 65%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 66%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.82; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -12.4% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 22.1% of revenue deployed · 65% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $140K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $26K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 17 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2010 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.

Key Signals

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

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 22/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.