U B W Inc A/k/a Urban Bush Women Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Fy25 saw a continuation of ubw's 40th anniversary celebrations with our this is risk national tour (october 2024 - april 2025), which traveled to tallahassee, fl; new brunswick, nj; boston, ma; and laramie, wy, performing for 1,889 attendees. Locally, fy25 performances of this is risk and other ubw mixed repertory took place at 92ny and the apollo for 1,520 audience members. We also toured excerpts of our site-responsive work haint blu to williamstown, ma and buffalo, ny for 127 attendees.the centerpiece of ubw's 40th anniversary programming was the New York city premiere of ubw founder jawole willa jo zollar's scat! The complex lives of al & dot, dot & al zollar in february 2025 at the perelman performing arts center. Conceived and directed by zollar in collaboration with jazz composer craig harris and co-choreographed by zollar and vincent thomas with dramaturgy by talvin wilks, 'scat!' is a powerful tale of the zollar family and what happens when dreams encounter the realities of american life in the '40s and '50s, modeled after the great tradition of black floor shows. Scat! Ran for four performances at the pac for 1,042 attendees. Before its run at pac nyc, scat! Had its west coast premiere at the mark taper forum (november 2024), performing for 2,825 audience members over four performances.in april 2025, ubw spent two weeks in residency at the university of buffalo teaching workshops and contributing to the local performing and visual arts community. In may, ubw hosted our generative dancer workshop at mark morris dance group. Participants engaged in a process-based approach to ubw's art-making informed by who is in the room--grounded in black feminist theory and centering radical black experimentation in the fields of culture, politics, identity, and history.across fy25, ubw continued to implement and strengthen our education and community engagement programs in support of under-resourced artists and audiences of color. Builders, organizers, and leaders in dance (bold) workshops are led by ubw staff and a roster of trained artist-facilitators. In fy25, bold reached 1,108 participants across 11 engagements with organizations including the music center in los angeles, the laundromat project, naturally occurring cultural districts ny, the peace corps, brooklyn arts high school, 92ny, and mark morris dance group, artspool, santa fe college, and and university of Florida. Bold offerings were consolidated into 4 core workshops: 1) dance for every body, embracing each individual's unique and powerful contribution; 2) mindful bodies & reflective practices, focusing on self-care, rejuvenation, and (re-)constructing healthful images of ourselves and our communities; 3) entering, building, and exiting community (ebx), rooted in ubw's value-centered approach for work in communities; and 4) collaboration lab, facilitating artistic creation based on themes that emerge from the group. Each workshop is led by one or more trained artist facilitators, including ubw company members. Workshop size, duration, and fees are based on the needs of the group. Ubw's summer leadership institute (sli) is a 10-day convening that serves as an incubation space for artists, organizers, and community leaders seeking to build skills in cultural leadership, social justice, storytelling, and community-based art. The sli was formalized in 1992 and has since served over 2,000 participants ranging in age from teens to elders and coming from across the u.s. And abroad. Participants register online, with a pay-what-you-can enrollment fee. Each sli culminates with two free, public performances by participants. Following the covid-19 shutdown, sli has experimented with different formats. In fy25, we led an internal version for the ubw team, and we are currently planning and pursuing funding for the next full sli. Ubw's choreographic center initiative (cci) began in 2013 as a 10-year investment in the development of women+ of color choreographers. Since then, the

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 36.9%; rating input score 37
• Program expense ratio: 52.7%; rating input score 53
• Fundraising efficiency: $9.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th 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: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 33.3%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.28; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 8.4%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings