Princeton Ballet Society
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
PRINCETON BALLET SOCIETY'S MISSION IS TO NURTURE A LIFELONG LOVE OF DANCE AND LIFT THE COLLECTIVE SPIRIT THROUGH EXCELLENT, RELEVANT, AND ACCESSIBLE ARTISTIC AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, WITH A FOCUS ON CLASSICAL BALLET.
- Income
- $5.7 million
- Spending
- $5.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- -2.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 47%
- Employees
- 128
- Volunteers
- 34
- Highest pay
- $128,054, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 50 out of 100. Higher than 20% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 73% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 12% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 23% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 8 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 49% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2519 of 19 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
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
0 of 10Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 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 (3)
- $1.7 million spent. PRINCETON BALLET SCHOOL HAS GAINED A NATIONAL REPUTATION FOR ITS EXCELLENT DANCE TRAINING SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1954 BY AUDRE ESTEY. PRINCETON BALLET SCHOOL CURRENTLY ENROLLS APPROXIMATELY 600 STUDENTS ANNUALLY FROM AGE THREE THROUGH ADULT AT STUDIOS IN CRANBURY, NEW BRUNSWICK, AND PRINCETON. ALL BALLET CLASSES ARE OFFERED WITH LIVE PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT. MANY OF PRINCETON BALLET SCHOOL'S FACULTY MEMBERS HAVE PERFORMED PROFESSIONALLY; OTHERS HAVE ATTAINED GRADUATE DEGREES IN DANCE EDUCATION AND HAVE WON AWARDS FOR THEIR TEACHING. STUDENTS FROM THE SCHOOL HAVE GONE ON TO DANCE ON BROADWAY AND IN PROFESSIONAL BALLET AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANIES IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD. GRADUATES HAVE DANCED WITH SUCH DIVERSE ORGANIZATIONS AS THE AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE, NEW YORK CITY BALLET, PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY, MIAMI CITY BALLET, STREB, MOMIX, COMPLEXIONS, MARK MORRIS DANCE COMPANY, TWYLA THARP DANCE, HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO, PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE, NEW YORK THEATRE BALLET, OREGON BALLET THEATRE, BALLET MET COLUMBUS, AND AMERICAN REPERTORY BALLET.
- $2.1 million spent. AMERICAN REPERTORY BALLET (ARB) IS NEW JERSEY'S PREEMINENT PROFESSIONAL BALLET COMPANY, PRESENTING CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY WORKS TO ENGAGE AND INSPIRE AUDIENCES. FOUNDED IN 1963 AS PART OF THE PRINCETON BALLET SOCIETY, ARB HAS BEEN DESIGNATED A "MAJOR ARTS INSTITUTION" BY THE NEW JERSEY STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS. THE COMPANY HAS ALSO BEEN AWARDED A CITATION OF EXCELLENCE BY THE COUNCIL, AND FREQUENTLY VOTED THE JERSEY ARTS PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD FOR "FAVORITE DANCE COMPANY." ARB IS LED BY A WORLD-CLASS LEADERSHIP TEAM INCLUDING SAMANTHA DUNSTER, ETHAN STIEFEL, AND GILLIAN MURPHY. TOGETHER, THEY ARE SHEPHERDING ARB INTO A NEW ERA OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE, FUSING STRONG CLASSICAL TECHNIQUE WITH A FRESH CONTEMPORARY APPROACH. ARB DANCERS HAIL FROM THE UNITED STATES, ITALY, JAPAN, FRANCE, BRAZIL, AND MORE, SHARING THEIR UNIQUE TRAINING AND INFLUENCES TO CREATE A DYNAMIC AND VISIONARY TEAM OF ARTISTS. ARB2, AMERICAN REPERTORY BALLET'S SECOND COMPANY, IS A DEVELOPMENT COMPANY FOR TALENTED YOUNG DANCERS. THE MISSION OF ARB2 IS TO ADVANCE THE NEXT GENERATION OF ARTISTS AND ENSURE THAT THESE TALENTED YOUNG DANCERS ARE READY FOR THE NEXT STEP IN THEIR CAREERS. DANCERS IN ARB2 WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE MAIN COMPANY ON A DAILY BASIS, TRAINING, REHEARSING AND FREQUENTLY PERFORMING WITH THE PROFESSIONAL COMPANY.
- $460,867 spent. ARB'S ACCESS & ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS ARE MULTI-FACETED ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, SUCH AS IN-SCHOOL RESIDENCIES, COMMUNITY EVENTS, STUDENT MATINEE PERFORMANCES, AND SPECIALLY DESIGNED CLASS OFFERINGS, SUCH AS DANCE FOR PARKINSON'S CLASSES FOR PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND THEIR CAREGIVERS. EACH YEAR, ARB ENGAGES APPROXIMATELY 10,000 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES OF VARYING AGES, ETHNIC AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS THROUGH ITS ACCESS & ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS. ARB'S FLAGSHIP RESIDENCY PROGRAM, DANCE POWER IS THE LONGEST CONTINUOUSLY RUNNING COMMUNITY AND ARTS PARTNERSHIP IN THE STATE, SERVING NEARLY 800 NEW BRUNSWICK STUDENTS EACH YEAR. ALL 3RD GRADE STUDENTS IN NEW BRUNSWICK HAVE DANCE POWER INCORPORATED INTO THEIR PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS FOR 20 WEEKS. AT THE END OF THE RESIDENCY, 40 SCHOLARSHIPS ARE PRESENTED TO STUDENTS SO THEY CAN CONTINUE DANCING AT PRINCETON BALLET SCHOOL FROM 4TH GRADE THROUGH THEIR SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL ON FULL TUITION SCHOLARSHIP, BECOMING DANCE POWER SCHOLARS. OVER 50,000 PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE NEW BRUNSWICK AREA HAVE REAPED THE REWARDS OF DANCE EDUCATION THROUGH THIS ACCLAIMED PROGRAM SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1986.FOUNDED BY DR. PENELOPE LATTIMER IN COLLABORATION WITH AMERICAN REPERTORY BALLET AND THE NEW BRUNSWICK BOARD OF EDUCATION, THE DANCE POWER CURRICULUM WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY A COMMITTEE OF DANCE EDUCATORS AND NEW BRUNSWICK SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, AND IT REMAINS A WORKING DOCUMENT THAT IS UPDATED REGULARLY TO MEET AND EXCEED THE NEW JERSEY STUDENT LEARNING STANDARDS FOR THE VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS. AT THE END OF EACH ACADEMIC YEAR, STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO SHOWCASE THEIR NEW SKILLS FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN A CULMINATING PERFORMANCE. THIS FINAL PERFORMANCE, CALLED WAITING INTHE WINGS, IS HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED AND SERVES AS A POWERFUL VISUAL REMINDER OF THE PROGRAM'S IMPACT ON THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. OTHER PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN CREATED AS SUPPLEMENTS TO AND ADAPTATIONS OF DANCE POWER. THESE INITIATIVES INCLUDE DANCE POWER SUMMER CAMP, HIP HOP REVOLUTION (MAKING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BALLET TECHNIQUE AND OTHER DANCE FORMS, SUCH AS HIP HOP), AND DANCE POWER LIMITLESS (DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES). IN 2021, DANCE POWER RECEIVED THE DISTINCTION IN DANCE AWARD FROM THE DANCE STUDIES ASSOCIATION. THE ASSOCIATION CITED THE PROGRAM'S IMPRESSIVE REACH, QUALITY, AND IMPACT ON THE FIELD OF DANCE STUDIES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 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 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 June 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 May 1961.
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.
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.