The New Jersey Play Lab Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842485240
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Randolph, NJ, USA
Phone
9738869749
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,671
Expenses
$12,169
Assets
$1,019

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

People named in this filing

  • CHERYL KATZ (Director)
  • JOHN LEWIS (Trustee)
  • NIKKOLE SALTER (Trustee)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The New Jersey Play Lab is dedicated to developing production-ready plays through comprehensive hands-on dramaturgy. The New Jersey Play Lab offers developmental residencies, play development forums, and dramaturgical services, designed to foster the creation and production of outstanding new work in The Garden State and beyond, thus strengthening the ongoing movement to establish New Jersey as a valued and vibrant hub of new play development.

What it reported doing in 2025

Promote growth and developemnt through the arts and theatre

Operating model

Revenue model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 96.1%; rating input score 96

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.08; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -17.3% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.3% of revenue deployed · 96.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 6 of 6 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.