The Paper Bag Players Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131972960
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2123532332
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Theater

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$417,188
Expenses
$361,091
Assets
$78,131
Liabilities
$16,244

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN STONE (Executive Director)
  • ELIZABETH BRADLEY (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN STONE (Executive Director): $33,495 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program Service Schooltime, After-school and Summer Workshops: In the FY25 season, we reached over 400 children through in-school after-school, and summer workshops, led by our performing artists. With city council funding, we provided two full weeks of CASA-funded after-school workshops at P.S. 20 on the Lower East Side, reaching 200 children. P.S. 20 has a predominantly Asian, Hispanic, ESL/ELL and POC population, which is served by this partnership. This was also our eighth year of partnering with Bound for Success/Coalition for the Homeless, providing workshops to 100 severely underserved children in locations such as Bushwick Family Residence in Brooklyn, and Jamaica Residence in Queens.

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 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.1%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 74.1%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.4%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -7.7% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -16.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.1% of revenue deployed · 74.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $268K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $33K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.