The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222609457
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Berkeley Heights, NJ, USA
Phone
9087900700
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,162,657
Expenses
$4,638,015
Assets
$2,873,715
Liabilities
$2,507,107

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GINA CARUSO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • ROBERT HAMBURGER (PRESIDENT)
  • DR JACQUELINE PHILLIPS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JULIA SEN (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • GINA CARUSO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $135,940 total reported compensation
  • HELEN CHA-PYO (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $125,616 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To offer accessible, high-quality performing arts education that sparks personal growth and builds inclusive communities. Its vision is to transform performing arts education in an inclusive community accessible to all.

What it reported doing in 2024

The performing arts school is a leading educational center that offers private lessons and group classes for children, teens, and adults of all skill levels. Students perform multiple times each year and there are programs for extended learning through classes and ensembles. Pas also holds master classes and workshops throughout the year to keep students engaged and challenged. What sets pas apart is its breadth of classes and the variety of performance opportunities offered. From aspiring young actors starting with the basics, to seasoned musicians looking to hone performance skills, there is a class for everyone. Pas programming includes instrumental and vocal instruction, and group classes for children, teens, and adults. Group course topics for children and teens include fundamentals of musical theater performance, theater and acting, vocal technique, and more. Group course topics for adults include song and video production, acting, ensemble playing, and more. In both private and group lessons, pas instructors provide individualized instruction. We keep our class sizes small and our faculty makes sure that technique and repertoire are age and developmentally appropriate.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 64% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.4%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.87; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.6%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.8% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $136K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.