PLATINUM2024

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc

aka Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County   |   Bridgeport, CT   |  www.nstudios.org
GuideStar Charity Check

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc

EIN: 06-0993269

Mission

​Neighborhood Studios transforms the lives of Bridgeport children through arts education, and empowers them to make a difference in their community. ​Neighborhood Studios provides an inclusive, warm and welcoming environment that enables students of all abilities and backgrounds, including those with special needs, to reach their fullest potential through the power of the arts. Neighborhood Studios offers high quality art, music, theater, and dance instruction to children of all ages.

Ruling year info

1979

Executive Director

Frank Derico

Main address

150 Elm Street

Bridgeport, CT 06604 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Music and Arts Center for Humanity

EIN

06-0993269

Subject area info

Sports and recreation

Performing arts

Population served info

People with disabilities

Children and youth

At-risk youth

Economically disadvantaged people

NTEE code info

Arts Education/Schools (A25)

Specialized Education Institutions/Schools for Visually or Hearing Impaired, Learning Disabled (B28)

IRS subsection

501(c)(3) Public Charity

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Tax forms

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Impact Statement: We want Bridgeport youth to find their voice and self-worth through the arts.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Saturday Studios

An arts and literacy program for children with special needs and their non-disabled peers. It is designed to help students strengthen motor, cognitive, communication, and social skills.

Population(s) Served
People with disabilities
Children and youth

The Conservatory program is for teens that are serious about the visual arts, media, music, theater, and dance. Open to all youth ages 13-18 in Bridgeport or who attend a Bridgeport school. Through the use of the arts, students develop their career readiness, increase their leadership, and learn how the arts can make a difference in their community.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
At-risk youth

An instrumental and vocal instruction program for children and adults. The program provides subsidized private lessons on the instrument of the student's choice.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people

Summer arts program for children with special needs and their non-disabled peers. The program helps youth improve their literacy skills, while providing individual support for each child's social and emotional goals.

Population(s) Served

Visual art, dance, and theater classes, primarily on Saturdays, for children ages 3-12. Students learn and explore the media and progress from beginner to more advanced over time.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
People with disabilities
Children and youth
People with disabilities

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Increase children's basic literacy skills

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children, People with disabilities

Related Program

Camp Hart

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

as measured by percentage increase based on pre- and post-tests

Support for each child's social and emotional needs.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children, People with disabilities

Related Program

Camp Hart

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

as measured by percentage increase from pre- and post-surveys

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Three-to-Five Year Aspiration: Neighborhood Studios will be a highly energized organization that expands the
number of children and youth, including those with special needs, it serves through securing additional resources
and offering vibrant arts programming. Neighborhood Studios will be a center for community-building, among
students, their families, and the broader Bridgeport community.

Four areas have been identified for short-term goals/objectives -- Professionalizing Organization, Enhancing
Programming, Enhancing Community/Families, Enhancing Fundraising – that will direct the organization to
increase its outreach to families and supporters as an arts education leader for the post pandemic world.

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County provides EVERY child with arts education. As an organization that was founded to allow blind children to learn a musical instrument, the focus of our work has expanded to include children with a variety of special needs and talents.

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County has a 40+ year history working with excellent arts teachers and Bridgeport children. Staff attend training workshops to implement teaching techniques, use evaluation instruments to gauge their effectiveness, and evolve the process over time.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • 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 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

  • 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 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

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently

Financials

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc
Fiscal year: Sep 01 - Aug 31
Financial documents
2017 NS 990 2017 Final.pdf

Revenue vs. expenses:  breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info
NET GAIN/LOSS:    in 
Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

0.46

Average of 0.19 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

3.9

Average of 1.6 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

10%

Average of 10% over 10 years

Funding sources info

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities info

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Sep 01 - Aug 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Sep 01 - Aug 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc

Financial trends analysis Glossary & formula definitions

Fiscal Year: Sep 01 - Aug 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

This snapshot of Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.

Created in partnership with

Fiscal year: Sep 01 - Aug 31 picture_as_pdf View full report cloud_downloadDownload data

Business model indicators

Profitability info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation $66,775 $65,674 $5,704 $84,573 $14,841
As % of expenses 8.5% 11.5% 0.9% 10.4% 1.6%
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation $0 $0 -$22,923 $82,355 $13,564
As % of expenses 0.0% 0.0% -3.6% 10.1% 1.5%
Revenue composition info
Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) $816,229 $518,183 $613,099 $898,638 $920,721
Total revenue, % change over prior year 36.6% -36.5% 18.3% 46.6% 2.5%
Program services revenue 32.3% 42.6% 40.7% 22.4% 27.3%
Membership dues 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Investment income 0.1% 0.4% 1.2% -0.3% 1.2%
Government grants 4.9% 8.2% 21.6% 25.1% 19.9%
All other grants and contributions 62.5% 48.7% 36.5% 52.8% 39.3%
Other revenue 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 12.4%
Expense composition info
Total expenses before depreciation $784,429 $568,709 $607,395 $814,065 $905,880
Total expenses, % change over prior year 11.8% -27.5% 6.8% 34.0% 11.3%
Personnel 55.3% 59.5% 63.8% 65.5% 66.9%
Professional fees 8.5% 5.4% 3.0% 3.0% 2.6%
Occupancy 16.9% 18.6% 11.2% 10.3% 8.0%
Interest 0.4% 0.5% 0.8% 0.2% 0.4%
Pass-through 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
All other expenses 18.8% 16.0% 21.2% 20.9% 22.1%
Full cost components (estimated) info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Total expenses (after depreciation) $851,204 $634,383 $636,022 $816,283 $907,157
One month of savings $65,369 $47,392 $50,616 $67,839 $75,490
Debt principal payment $0 $0 $0 $72,497 $116,321
Fixed asset additions $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total full costs (estimated) $916,573 $681,775 $686,638 $956,619 $1,098,968

Capital structure indicators

Liquidity info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Months of cash 0.1 3.3 4.6 4.3 3.9
Months of cash and investments 0.1 3.3 4.6 4.3 3.9
Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets -2.1 -2.9 -8.7 -5.3 -4.6
Balance sheet composition info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Cash $8,599 $157,927 $231,488 $290,879 $292,233
Investments $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Receivables $26,814 $37,141 $68,514 $51,316 $37,348
Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) $660,182 $829,502 $169,321 $169,321 $169,321
Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) 83.1% 94.5% 97.4% 98.8% 99.5%
Liabilities (as a % of assets) 257.6% 247.2% 222.7% 191.1% 190.7%
Unrestricted net assets -$136,382 -$136,382 -$439,872 -$357,517 -$343,953
Temporarily restricted net assets $4,488 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Permanently restricted net assets $0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total restricted net assets $4,488 $4,488 $4,488 $4,488 $4,488
Total net assets -$296,261 -$412,461 -$435,384 -$353,029 -$339,465

Key data checks

Key data checks info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Material data errors Yes Yes No No No

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Letter of Determination
Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

Executive Director

Frank Derico

Frank Derico is Executive Director of Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County in Bridgeport, CT. For eleven years prior, he was Program Director, managing 14 school year programs and 4 summer camps that served 1500 students each year. Under his program management, the organization won the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities Coming Up Taller Award in 2005, expanded its adolescent school-to-career arts apprenticeship program and developed strong partnerships with other youth serving organizations. Mr. Derico graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Bridgeport in 1998, where he received a Bachelor of Music in Performance. He holds a Credential in Afterschool Education from Charter Oak State College. In addition to his work at Neighborhood Studios, he has served as a consultant for the United Way Music Zone initiative and as a curriculum consultant for National Association of Music Merchants.

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc

Highest paid employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of highest paid employee data for this organization

Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County Inc

Board of directors
as of 02/03/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization
Board chair

Karla Mpanga

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Virginie Morin

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Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • 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? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/3/2024
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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
Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities)
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Equity strategies

Last updated: 01/09/2024

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.