Mission: Founded in 1998, The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) is a cultural arts center dedicated to presenting the best of independent, documentary, and world cinema; promoti ... (More)
Jacob Burns Film Center is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1999, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.
Exceptional
This charity's score is 93.98, earning it a 4-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.
This score is calculated from two sub-scores:
Finance: 92.50 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 96.00 View details
This score represents Form 990 data from 2019. More recent filing data is available, but it has not been factored into this score, due to COVID-19's effect on this organization.
View this organization’s historical ratings.
Rating update postponed due to COVID-19's impact on this organization. View Jacob Burns Film Center's response.
Star Rated Report
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Program Expense Ratio
86.7%
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).
This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Administrative Expenses
6.5%
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Expenses
6.7%
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
13.9%
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Efficiency
$0.20
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Working Capital Ratio
2.00 years
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Growth
4.50%
We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
Governance
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
| Governance: | |
|---|---|
| Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) | |
| No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
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| Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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| Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) | |
| Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) | |
| Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) | |
| Compensates Board ... (More) |
Policies
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Policies: | |
|---|---|
| Conflict of Interest ... (More) | |
| Whistleblower ... (More) | |
| Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) | |
| CEO Compensation Process ... (More) | |
| Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) |
Transparency
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Transparency: | |
|---|---|
| CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) | |
| Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More) | |
| Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) |
Additional Information
Unscored
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Total Revenue and Expenses
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Salary of Key Persons
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Edith Demas, Executive Director
$206,061 (2.26% of Total Expenses)
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2020
Business Master File Data
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Activity data not reported from the IRS
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
Data Sources: IRS Forms 990
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).
Pandemic Response
This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Jacob Burns Film Center reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Revenue
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
The JBFC closed its campus on March 13, 2020 and did not reopen until May 12, 2021. Significant decreases in salaries and operating expenses are reflective of deep staff cuts and furloughs. Declines in earned income are tied to the substantial loss of ticket, concession, and membership sales. We raised over $4 million in FY 20, despite having to shut down at the end of the 2nd quarter. Due to multi-year grants fulfilled in FY20, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding our reopening date, our fundraising goal for FY21 was $2 million. We ended our FY 21 on Sept. 30 with a total of $2,452,132 in contributed income, surpassing our goal by more than $450,000. We have a healthy endowment to support ongoing operations and weather deficits.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
Due to Covd-19, we had to reimagine the delivery of our film programs and series. We began offering virtual programs only a few weeks after we shut down and launched the JBFC Virtual Marquee film platform on February 12, 2021. For our media education programs, we had to immediately adjust our approach to teacher training and support, as well as content delivery. Our Virtual Classroom to Screening Room boasts a carefully curated film library that features a culturally relevant collection of stories from around the world. These animated, documentary, and narrative films invite students to engage with new cultures and build empathy through memorable characters and personal stories. We are now seizing the opportunity to further develop, pilot, implement, and expand our media education programs on a national level.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
While the closure of our campus was incredibly challenging, our commitment to our mission never wavered. In fact, the JBFC responded swiftly to the urgent need for enhanced virtual learning by offering our media education programs to teachers and students in schools throughout Westchester County, NY state, and across the country completely free of charge. With a presentation-ready interface, direct teacher support, HD video, and a "category feature" allowing easy searching, we are enhancing our commitment to empowering teachers to bring story fundamentals and film and media literacy into their classrooms. In addition, we offered a virtual marquee featuring new releases and JBFC curated film series, and we accelerated our efforts to launch the Creative Culture Network, a support hub for filmmakers including a monthly newsletter and an up-to-date web page aggregating resources and opportunities.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
Virtual programs and series will continue to augment our offerings at the Theater now that we have reopened as it helps us expand and diversify our audience within the region and across the country. Feedback from our audience has been very positive and we are excited about the wide range of possibilities. We continue to present virtual programs within several of our other ongoing series, including Remix: The Black Experience in Film, Media, and Art, Global Watch: Crisis and Social Acton, Life on the Stage, and Inquiry: Science on Screen. We will also continue to offer virtual learning opportunities to teachers and students completely free of charge. Through our new virtual platform, teachers have access to every project-based lesson. In spite of layoffs, which included 3 fulltime education staffers, the team accomplished extraordinary achievements.
Historical Ratings
| Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
| Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
| 12/23/2020 | 2019 | 93.98 | |
| 7/1/2019 | 2018 | 94.86 | |
| 8/1/2018 | 2017 | 94.09 | |
| 11/1/2017 | 2016 | 96.91 | |
| 11/1/2016 | 2015 | 95.00 | |
| 6/1/2016 | 2014 | 92.82 | |
| Rating Version: 2.0 | |||
| 9/1/2015 | 2014 | 93.30 | |
| 10/1/2014 | 2013 | 89.69 |  |
| 8/1/2013 | 2012 | 90.07 | |
| 7/1/2012 | 2011 | 99.05 | |
| 9/20/2011 | 2010 | 90.47 | |
| Rating Version: 1.0 | |||
| 7/1/2011 | 2010 | 86.04 | |
| 7/1/2010 | 2009 | 98.58 | |
| 10/1/2009 | 2008 | 84.18 | |
| 6/1/2008 | 2007 | 91.88 | |
| 6/1/2007 | 2006 | 96.59 | |
| 7/1/2006 | 2005 | 95.49 | |
Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability
Impact & Results
This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Impact & Results Score
Not Currently Scored
Jacob Burns Film Center cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Do you work at Jacob Burns Film Center? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Largest Programs
Jacob Burns Film Center reported its largest program on its FY 2020 Form 990 as:
$5,836,268
Spent in most recent FY
100%
Percent of program expenses
AN EDUCATION AND CULTURAL INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO PRESENTING THE BEST OF INDEPENDENT, DOCUMENTARY, AND WORLD CINEMA; PROMOTING 21ST CENTURY LITERACY; AND MAKING FILM A VIBRANT PART OF THE COMMUNITY. ... (More)
Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
This score provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Leadership & Adaptability Score
Not Currently Scored
Jacob Burns Film Center is currently not eligible for a Leadership & Adaptability score because we have not received its L&A survey responses.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that the organization has not yet submitted data for evaluation.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Organization Leadership
Mary Jo Ziesel
Executive Director
Lynn Sobel
Chair
Previous: Leadership & Adaptability
Culture & Community
This score provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves. Learn more about how and why we rate Culture & Community.
Culture & Community Score
Not Currently Scored
Jacob Burns Film Center is currently not eligible for a Culture & Community score because we have not received its Constituent Feedback or Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion data. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the How We Listen and Equity Practices sections of their Candid profile.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Culture & Community Report
Unscored
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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
This organization has not provided information regarding the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Methodology
We are utilizing data collected by Candid to document and assess the DEI practices implemented by the organization. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the Equity Strategies section of their Candid profiles to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Constituent Feedback
Constituent Feedback and Listening Practice data are not available for this organization. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
Methodology
We've partnered with Candid to survey organizations about their feedback practices. Nonprofit organizations can fill out the How We Listen section of their Candid profile to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Analysis and Research
Like the overall Encompass Rating System, the Culture & Community Beacon is designed to evolve as metrics are developed and ready for integration. Below you can find more information about the metrics we currently evaluate in this beacon and their relevance to nonprofit performance.
Constituent Feedback
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
