BROOKLYN MUSIC SCHOOL
Discover the joy of music
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Brooklyn Music School works to address the limited opportunities of many children and adults to access excellent music and performing arts education in greater New York City. Our vision: To make it possible for everyone, regardless of their background and resources, to be able to experience the joy of music and the artistic and intellectual benefits of musical performance. The BMS Vision is consistent with our roots as a musical settlement at the beginning of the 20th Century and remains just as relevant more than 100 years later. Despite being the nation's cultural capital, many NYC residents, including children, families, and adult amateurs have limited access to musical instruction and performing arts. Since our founding, we have embraced a vision of a radical inclusion and diversity to form a welcoming community space for all cultural traditions, races, abilities, and income levels to participate in the arts.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
BMS Outreach
Through BMS Outreach, we bring the quality of Brooklyn Music School's faculty, programming, and pedagogy to schools, senior centers, and community organizations across greater New York City, serving 8,000 students and seniors per year. BMS Outreach is dedicated to formulating just the right educational programming in music and dance to suit the needs of each organization and its students.
As a community institution, BMS is committed to engaging with schools – public, charter, and private – after-school programs, and community centers in an effort to foster literacy and cooperation in the performing arts.
Arts Reaching Youth After School Program
After School Program, Arts Reaching Youth (ARY), offers a range of creative options with classes in music, dance, theater, and the performing arts, along with homework support and healthy snacks. Designed to be affordable for working families and with generous financial aid available, this program offers immersion in a wide range of music and performing arts in a safe and constructive environment.
Our location in Brooklyn's cultural district makes us convenient for families with kids in grades K-5 from around Brooklyn. Appropriate for children ages 5 to 11 years old.
When students participate in ARY they have the opportunity to join in group music classes, dance classes, join ensembles such as Rock Band or the Orchestra, or even develop their Musical Theater skills.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of performances
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Age groups, Ethnic and racial groups, Social and economic status
Related Program
BMS Outreach
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Decrease in 2020 number of performances dramatically increased due to Covid-19.
Total number of audience members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2020 and 2021's audience members also include online audience members.
Number of students receiving music and performing arts education (outreach)
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
BMS Outreach
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Goals
Make high-quality musical instruction approachable and affordable
Create frequent opportunities for performance for our students and cultural enrichment for our community
Represent a wide range of musical traditions, including European, African, Middle Eastern, and American
Offer a safe and welcoming environment for families and individuals of all ages to explore new talents and make lasting friendships
Nurture a vibrant community of local cultural non-profits by providing access to affordable rehearsal and performance space
Consistent with our history, BMS is working to reinvent the community music school for a changing educational, demographic, and technological context in the 21st Century. Music has a unique ability to connect people across different ages and cultural backgrounds and support a sorely needed sense of community. We strive to be inclusive and welcoming in all we do.
• Musical instruction and performance is now absent from many schools in our community, requiring innovative approaches to bringing this human birthright to young people.
• Brooklyn and New York City continue to be a melting pot of new immigrants, but today the breadth of countries, cultures, and musical traditions is far more varied than 100 years ago.
• New technologies have eroded traditions of amateur musicianship by making music pervasive and passive, but have also made the creation of high-quality recordings and electronic music much more accessible.
• As the pace of urban life increases, common cultural spaces have become even more vital to building communities and allowing new relationships and artistic experiences to flourish.
• Every musician, artist, and student is a product of their environment. Even as technology advances communication, every community needs a haven for holistic human interaction that nurtures meaningful relationships between teacher to student, peer to peer, and organization to family, that creates camaraderie using the power of music.
• Given the overall proven cognitive benefits of music and performance education, BMS does not just create musicians, but also the future generation of lifelong learners, leaders and arts patrons.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Brooklyn Music School’s strategies focus on:
• Furthering equity and inclusion to high-quality cultural education for underserved audiences;
• Sustaining affordable spaces for emerging artists and smaller non-profits to do innovative work in the heart of Brooklyn’s cultural district;
• Preserving the neighborhood character by providing a refuge for enrichment programming in a rapidly changing part of Brooklyn; and
• Delivering quality music and performing arts education to youth both in-school and at our community music and performing arts center, and to seniors as part of a healthy aging and cognitive resilience program.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our capabilities to achieve our goals include:
The credibility that comes with having served the community for over a century with a consistent focus on diversity, accessibility, enriching the lives of the disadvantaged, and adapting to meet the changing needs of New York City
An engaged Board of Trustees that is committed to sustainability and growth of the institution
A strong leadership team in charge of major programs who combine artistic excellence, commitment to the mission, resourcefulness
A sizable roster of teaching artists who combine strong training and performance backgrounds with an authentic love for teaching and nurturing the next generation
A strategic location in the heart of Brooklyn's cultural district, accessible from all corners of New York City through public transportation
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
What We Have Accomplished
Grown served students from 400 to over 8,000 per year
Achieved revenue growth of 20-30% each year for past six years
Paid off prior debts to strengthen financial condition
Achieved profitability in Fiscal 2018
Begun investments in upgrading existing facility
Secured $6 million for a badly needed expansion that will more than double our instructional space
Began partnership with New York State Parent Teacher Association in order to provide affordable programming to participating schools
Developed our Early Childhood Education courses to reflect consultation with NYC Blueprint for the Arts
Piloted first Artist In Residence Program in 2021
In Progress
Growing our annual fund from 10% of revenues to 30% of revenues
Increasing our funding for merit-based scholarships and financial aid
Increasing our cash reserves and endowment
Completing the planned expansion of our facilities with a new Community Performing Arts Center adjacent to our building
Optimizing and streamlining our registration process for students and parents
Expanding key programming and providing more free services to low-income members of our community
Making our historic building completely ADA compliant
Creating podcasts to expand our reach and uplift our community voices
Offering substantial cultural programming that includes more diverse backgrounds
Increasing the number of concerts we offer and hosting these in neighborhoods throughout the borough
Diversifying our revenue options to include stocks and cryptocurrency
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
BROOKLYN MUSIC SCHOOL
Board of directorsas of 03/31/2022
Shelby Green
Pace Unviersity Law School
Term: 2019 - 2022
Peter Bordes
Mark Braithwaite
VA
Peter Bordes
oneQube
Elizabeth Schmidt
Whittle School & Studios
Jordan Tamagni
UNICEF
John Flores
RBC
Hadas Shahar
Charles Swartz
NYU
Crocker Coulson
Drew Bernstein
Marcum
Zach Kouwe
Dukas Linden Public Relations
Jacqueline Parker
Ballard Spahr, LLP; Pace University
Brian Pope
Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets
Daniela Bauer
Maimonides Children | Infant's Hospital of Brooklyn
Angela Howard
Covenant House International
François Leininger
François Leininger, LLC
Maria Pham
MUFG Union Bank, N.A.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data