The Paul Robeson House of Princeton

What it reported doing in 2025

The board continues to move forward with the renovation of the paul robeson birthplace. We completed more exterior work, including the front and rear entrances, the lower gallery entrance, the driveway, gutters, siding, and roofing. The access ramps and porch railings were completed. As we enter our final phase, the interior is our focus. This includes the electrical wiring, plumbing, communications, mechanical and technical systems, painting, and flooring. We plan a phased opening when building codes and other regulations are completed. A major fundraising campaign is underway to complete this important phase of the restoration. The campaign has focused on individual donors and organizations, providing naming opportunities. In 2025, we were pleased to receive significant grants from both New Jersey and national foundations. The bunbury fund of the princeton area community foundation awarded the paul robeson house of princeton a "sunset grant" in recognition of our impact on the princeton community. We also received a generous gift from the princeton cemetery fund of nassau presbyterian church. The mellon foundation grant ended well with our submission of a final report in april. The 2025 end-of-year fundraising campaign included a series of personal video appeals from board members delivered through our social media channels. Our fundraising communication (link) provides more information about the naming project and other development efforts underway. We are very proud of the growth and development of the robeson scholars and robeson fellows programs, now in its 5th year. This year, 69 students ranging from high school age to law school submitted applications. We selected fourteen students for the class of 2025 (cohort v). Scholars and fellows are engaged in robeson-inspired projects. The program was recognized with an unsolicited grant from first baptist church of somerville, New Jersey. In keeping with our mission to make robeson a household name, we worked with New Jersey senators shirley turner and andrew zwicker to designate april 9th as paul robeson day in New Jersey. The princeton and larger mercer county community supports the dr. Martin luther king jr. Teach-in and curriculum exchange, the installation of the paul robeson mural at the princeton middle school, and our paul robeson day events, including an annual memorial wreath ceremony at the arts council of princeton. In 2025, we participated with the mercer county division of travel and tourism heritage committee - princeton and mercer county nonprofit organizations engaged in planning for the 250th anniversary of our nation.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 55.3%; rating input score 55
• Program expense ratio: 53.3%; rating input score 53
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -3.8%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.87; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 23.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -22.7% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 26.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings