Bargemusic Ltd
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
FOR 45 YEARS BARGEMUSIC CONTINUES TO BE DEDICTED TO ENHANCING THE CULTURAL LIFE OF NEW YORK CITY BY PRESENTING CONCERTS YEAR ROUND MAKING THE ENTIRE CANON OF CHAMBER MUSIC ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE IN A UNIQUE FLOATING CONCERT HALL.
- Income
- $740,285
- Spending
- $928,274
- Spent on programs
- 97%
- Reserves
- 6.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 89%
- Employees
- 3
- Volunteers
- 0
- Highest pay
- $246,115, executive/artistic directo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 53% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 6.4 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 9% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 25% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 5% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1597% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 97 out of 100. Higher than 91% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 254 of 6 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
12 of 15Its accounts were reviewed or compiled by an independent accountant, but not audited.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $897,885 spent. In its 47th season Bargemusic continued to provide opportunities for many unique voices active in NYC and globally and a special experience for the community and NYC visitors. All concerts took place on the Barge and at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse with magnificent views of the Manhattan skyline and a seating capacity of 74. In FY24 Sept 1, 2024 August 31,2025 Bargemusic presented more than 100 concerts in 75 programs including 90 Admission Free concerts. Programs included:The ECLECTIC SERIES featured composers Bach, Kreisler, Bacewicz, Harmon, Ysae, Beethoven, Chopin, Muczynski, Bolcom, Ravel, Schumann, Bansal, Ferneyhough, Liang, Taylor, Brahms, Boulanger, Massenet, Kapustin, Shostakovich, and performers included the Horszowski Trio, Kinga Augustyn, Daniel Schlosberg, Thomas Mesa, Ilya Yakushev, Aaron Larget-Caplan, Adam Tendler, and others in a series of concerts combining new & master works. THE HERE & NOW SERIES included concerts throughout the season, including the Labor Day Festival & a Korean-American composers series, and regularly featured women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA artists and composers. It presented works by composers Wheeler, Taylor, Huebner, Schnyder, Regan, Hagen, Ueno, Hoffman, Piazzolla, Texu Kim, Juri Seo, Kyong Mee Choi, Hee Yun Kim, Leo Chang, Matthew Pellegrino and others, performed by David Taylor, Gregor Huebner, Daniel Schnyder, DUO YUMENO, Joel Hoffman, TRIO AGORA, Salley Koo, Dawn Dongeun Wohn, Daniel McDonough, Alexander Solomon. THE MASTERWORKS SERIES included quartets quintets, and concerti of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Dohnanyi, Wieniawski, Sarasate, and solo, duo, trio, and Italian music festival, and chamber works by Bach, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Verdi, Kreisler, Gershwin, George Walker, Bartok, Haydn, Dvoak, Mendelssohn, Strauss, Brahms, Handel, Joplin, Cicoria, Bruckner, Rubenstein, Tchaikovsky, Irene Britton Smith, Barber, Harrison, Shostakovich, Ives, Dallapiccola, Petrassi, castelnuovo Tedesco, Morricone, Clementi, Donizetti, Rossini, Puccini, Sgambati, Cherubini, Mencarini, Caetani, Omizzolo, Scelsi, Rebora, Lombardi, Busoni, Casella, Malipiero, Giustini, Rota, Masi. Performers included Jeffrey Swann, Mark Peskanov, Yuliya Gorenman, Olga Vinokur, Miranda Cuckson, Doris Stevenson, Edward Arron, Jeewon Park, Christopher O'Riley, Sophia Agranovich, Maureen Volk, Alexandra Joan, Vincent Balse, Asiya Korepanova, Semplice Players, Nicholas Tzavaras, Rita Sloan, Amadi Azikiwe, Wendy Sutter, Blair McMillen, Joel Sachs, Roberto Prosseda,Carlo Alberto Bacchi, Francesca Antonucci, Fracesco mencarini, Andrea Mariani, Alessandra Ammara, Pietro Vaccari, Alessandro Riccardi, Adriano Murgia, Alessio Masi. THE ADMISSION FREE CONCERT SERIES included programs from all Bargemusic series and included a Q & A session with the musicians. Bargemusic offered discounted and free tickets to seniors, students, and children through January 2025 and all admission free programming subsequently. Bargemusic's programming continued to regularly feature artists and composers from traditionally underrepresented groups such as LBGTQIA, BIPOC, and persons with disabilities. Bargemusic continued to host and participate in publicly accessible music recitals for the Patricia Robinson Music School which serves African American students in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and host recitals for the Brooklyn Music Teachers Guild. Online, Bargemusic continued to livestream free concerts to homebound Holocaust survivors in the New York area and across the US.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending August 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 1978.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
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