Ubw Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
CHOREOGRAPHER JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR FOUNDED URBAN BUSH WOMEN (UBW) IN 1984 AS A PERFORMANCE ENSEMBLE DEDICATED TO EXPLORING THE USE OF CULTURAL EXPRESSION AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIAL CHANGE. UBW WEAVES CONTEMPORARY DANCE, MUSIC AND TEXT WITH THE HISTORY, CULTURE, AND SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. UBW'S ARTISTIC WORK IS UNIQUE AND REQUESTED AROUND THE WORLD. UBW HAS A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO CHOREOGRAPHY AND PERFORMANCE AND WORKS WITH AN IMPRESSIVE LIST OF COLLABORATORS FROM THE WORLDS OF DANCE, MUSIC AND LITERATURE.
- Income
- $3.6 million
- Spending
- $2.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 53%
- Reserves
- 18.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 80%
- Employees
- 32
- Volunteers
- 0
- Highest pay
- $102,753, executive director (thru 3/7/25)
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 80% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 18.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 3% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 33% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 31% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1553% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 10 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 38% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2516 of 17 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
0 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 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)
- $1.3 million spent. FY25 SAW A CONTINUATION OF UBW'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS WITH OUR THIS IS RISK NATIONAL TOUR (OCTOBER 2024 - APRIL 2025), WHICH TRAVELED TO TALLAHASSEE, FL; NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ; BOSTON, MA; AND LARAMIE, WY, PERFORMING FOR 1,889 ATTENDEES. LOCALLY, FY25 PERFORMANCES OF THIS IS RISK AND OTHER UBW MIXED REPERTORY TOOK PLACE AT 92NY AND THE APOLLO FOR 1,520 AUDIENCE MEMBERS. WE ALSO TOURED EXCERPTS OF OUR SITE-RESPONSIVE WORK HAINT BLU TO WILLIAMSTOWN, MA AND BUFFALO, NY FOR 127 ATTENDEES.THE CENTERPIECE OF UBW'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMMING WAS THE NEW YORK CITY PREMIERE OF UBW FOUNDER JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR'S SCAT! THE COMPLEX LIVES OF AL & DOT, DOT & AL ZOLLAR IN FEBRUARY 2025 AT THE PERELMAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY ZOLLAR IN COLLABORATION WITH JAZZ COMPOSER CRAIG HARRIS AND CO-CHOREOGRAPHED BY ZOLLAR AND VINCENT THOMAS WITH DRAMATURGY BY TALVIN WILKS, 'SCAT!' IS A POWERFUL TALE OF THE ZOLLAR FAMILY AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DREAMS ENCOUNTER THE REALITIES OF AMERICAN LIFE IN THE '40S AND '50S, MODELED AFTER THE GREAT TRADITION OF BLACK FLOOR SHOWS. SCAT! RAN FOR FOUR PERFORMANCES AT THE PAC FOR 1,042 ATTENDEES. BEFORE ITS RUN AT PAC NYC, SCAT! HAD ITS WEST COAST PREMIERE AT THE MARK TAPER FORUM (NOVEMBER 2024), PERFORMING FOR 2,825 AUDIENCE MEMBERS OVER FOUR PERFORMANCES.IN APRIL 2025, UBW SPENT TWO WEEKS IN RESIDENCY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO TEACHING WORKSHOPS AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE LOCAL PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS COMMUNITY. IN MAY, UBW HOSTED OUR GENERATIVE DANCER WORKSHOP AT MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP. PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED IN A PROCESS-BASED APPROACH TO UBW'S ART-MAKING INFORMED BY WHO IS IN THE ROOM--GROUNDED IN BLACK FEMINIST THEORY AND CENTERING RADICAL BLACK EXPERIMENTATION IN THE FIELDS OF CULTURE, POLITICS, IDENTITY, AND HISTORY.ACROSS FY25, UBW CONTINUED TO IMPLEMENT AND STRENGTHEN OUR EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS IN SUPPORT OF UNDER-RESOURCED ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES OF COLOR. BUILDERS, ORGANIZERS, AND LEADERS IN DANCE (BOLD) WORKSHOPS ARE LED BY UBW STAFF AND A ROSTER OF TRAINED ARTIST-FACILITATORS. IN FY25, BOLD REACHED 1,108 PARTICIPANTS ACROSS 11 ENGAGEMENTS WITH ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING THE MUSIC CENTER IN LOS ANGELES, THE LAUNDROMAT PROJECT, NATURALLY OCCURRING CULTURAL DISTRICTS NY, THE PEACE CORPS, BROOKLYN ARTS HIGH SCHOOL, 92NY, AND MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP, ARTSPOOL, SANTA FE COLLEGE, AND AND UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. BOLD OFFERINGS WERE CONSOLIDATED INTO 4 CORE WORKSHOPS: 1) DANCE FOR EVERY BODY, EMBRACING EACH INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE AND POWERFUL CONTRIBUTION; 2) MINDFUL BODIES & REFLECTIVE PRACTICES, FOCUSING ON SELF-CARE, REJUVENATION, AND (RE-)CONSTRUCTING HEALTHFUL IMAGES OF OURSELVES AND OUR COMMUNITIES; 3) ENTERING, BUILDING, AND EXITING COMMUNITY (EBX), ROOTED IN UBW'S VALUE-CENTERED APPROACH FOR WORK IN COMMUNITIES; AND 4) COLLABORATION LAB, FACILITATING ARTISTIC CREATION BASED ON THEMES THAT EMERGE FROM THE GROUP. EACH WORKSHOP IS LED BY ONE OR MORE TRAINED ARTIST FACILITATORS, INCLUDING UBW COMPANY MEMBERS. WORKSHOP SIZE, DURATION, AND FEES ARE BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE GROUP. UBW'S SUMMER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (SLI) IS A 10-DAY CONVENING THAT SERVES AS AN INCUBATION SPACE FOR ARTISTS, ORGANIZERS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS SEEKING TO BUILD SKILLS IN CULTURAL LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL JUSTICE, STORYTELLING, AND COMMUNITY-BASED ART. THE SLI WAS FORMALIZED IN 1992 AND HAS SINCE SERVED OVER 2,000 PARTICIPANTS RANGING IN AGE FROM TEENS TO ELDERS AND COMING FROM ACROSS THE U.S. AND ABROAD. PARTICIPANTS REGISTER ONLINE, WITH A PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN ENROLLMENT FEE. EACH SLI CULMINATES WITH TWO FREE, PUBLIC PERFORMANCES BY PARTICIPANTS. FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 SHUTDOWN, SLI HAS EXPERIMENTED WITH DIFFERENT FORMATS. IN FY25, WE LED AN INTERNAL VERSION FOR THE UBW TEAM, AND WE ARE CURRENTLY PLANNING AND PURSUING FUNDING FOR THE NEXT FULL SLI. UBW'S CHOREOGRAPHIC CENTER INITIATIVE (CCI) BEGAN IN 2013 AS A 10-YEAR INVESTMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN+ OF COLOR CHOREOGRAPHERS. SINCE THEN, THE PROGRAM HAS TAKEN MANY FORMS TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF OUR ARTISTS AND THE NATIONAL ARTS ECOLOGY. IN FY25, WE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENTAL PLANNING AND EXPLORATORY WORK FOR FUTURE ITERATIONS OF CCI. IN 2021, UBW LAUNCHED THE UBW ARCHIVE PROJECT TO DOCUMENT, PRESERVE, AND DIGITIZE UBW'S 40 YEAR HISTORY OF CHOREOGRAPHY, PERFORMANCE, SOCIAL PRACTICE, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. THE UBW ARCHIVE FEATURES THE VOICES OF THE BLACK WOMEN+ ARTISTS, MEMBERS OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA, AND COUNTLESS COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE SHAPED UBW'S GROUNDBREAKING FUSION OF AFRICAN DIASPORIC CULTURAL PRACTICES WITH MODERN DANCE AND AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS 40 YEARS. FROM JANUARY TO APRIL 2025, THE UBW ARCHIVE WAS FEATURED IN UBW'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION AT THE APOLLO, TITLED 'LEGACY, LINEAGE, AND LIBERATION: AN EXAMINATION OF URBAN BUSH WOMEN'S ART-MAKING AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PRAXIS.' THE EXHIBITION RECEIVED A ONE-MONTH EXTENSION AND FEATURED SPECIAL POP-UP PERFORMANCES BY UBW COMPANY MEMBERS. IT SHOWCASED RARE PHOTOGRAPHS, PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE, MANUSCRIPTS, COSTUMES, AND MEMORABILIA FROM ACROSS THE ENSEMBLE'S 40-YEAR HISTORY.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since March 1992.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.