Structural Deficit
What does this mean?
Persistently low financial health over 5 years despite strong programmatic output. They are borrowing from their future (or bleeding an endowment) to pay for today's programs.
The Path Forward
The Truth-Teller
Forces necessary, painful cuts to preserve the core. It demands that the organization stop borrowing from its future and align its current programmatic output with actual sustainable revenue.
Title
Representative Institutions
Institutional Epochs
Historical Performance
| Year | Revenue | Top Comp | Comp % Rev | Score | Phase Label | Outlook | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | — | — | 14.5% | 35 | Critical Intervention Needed | Recovery | |
| 2022 | — | — | 25.3% | 30 | Critical Intervention Needed | Recovery | |
| 2021 | — | — | — | 29 | Critical Intervention Needed | Recovery | |
| 2020 | — | — | 17.0% | 41 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2019 | — | — | — | 23 | Critical Intervention Needed | Stable Watch |
Officer compensation history
Tax year 2023
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Odsess-Rubin | Artistic Director | 14.8% of Rev | ||
| Keith Butler | Treasurer | — | ||
| Charles Gershman | Board President | — | ||
| Leigh Fondakowski | Secretary | — | ||
| Stephen Shafer Mazow | Board President | — |
Tax year 2021
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Odsess-Rubin | Artistic Director | 9.1% of Rev | ||
| Stephen Shafer Mazow | Board Member | — | ||
| Leigh Fondakowski | Board Member | — | ||
| Morgan Dean | Board President | — | ||
| Keith Butler | Treasurer | — | ||
| Charles Gershman | Secretary | — | ||
| Kevin Smith Kirkwood | Board Member | — |
Score breakdown
The three components combine into a single 0–100 score weighted as shown. Full methodology →
Peer comparison
Compared to 699 other orgs in NY with NTEE prefix A6.
Most-divergent component: financial score sits 16 points below the peer median (15 vs. 31).
5-year trend: Structural Deficit
Persistently low financial health over 5 years despite strong programmatic output. They are borrowing from their future (or bleeding an endowment) to pay for today's programs.
Overall score has gone from 23 → 35 over 5 years (improving by 12 points). A multi-year directional move of this magnitude is a signal worth investigating.
What's driving this score
- Comp-to-revenue ratio of 14.5% sits within the sector's healthy band (18–22%).
- Two consecutive years of deficit spending.
- Financial resilience score in the bottom quartile — reserves and liabilities ratios warrant review.
What would change this score
The two changes that would most improve this score:
- Build cash reserves to at least 3 months of operating expenses — moves financial resilience score meaningfully (~10 points).
- Stabilize program expenses or grow earned-income revenue to break the consecutive-deficit pattern (~8 points to financial score).
Improving governance is a board decision. These are the levers.