On this fourteenth annual #GivingTuesday (created in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y), consider donating to a theater company or theater organization in New York City.

This is what Scrooge would do (by the end of the story), if he were a theater lover

But, given his business acumen, he would first check Charity Navigator to make sure the theater gets high ratings for accountability, transparency, financial health, impact and results.

Below, I’ve selected ten New York theaters and theater companies, listed alphabetically, with links to their home page or donate page. These are all non-profits; donations to them are tax deductible. They are just a sample of the hundreds of worthy theater non-profits in New York.

The ones I’ve listed have done work I consider worthwhile; they have made me feel welcome; and Charity Navigator has given its highest rating (four stars) to each of them. Among the information available are the salaries of the five highest paid individuals at each organization: None of the leaders at the theaters on my list get outrageously high salaries (which is scandalously common even for those theaters whose expenses so far exceed their revenue that they have been laying off staff.)

Bedlam
Bushwick Starr
Classical Theatre of Harlem
Elevator Repair Service
En Garde Arts
La MaMa ETC
Ma-Yi Theater Company
Mint Theater Company
Pan Asian Repertory
Working Theater

As I said, this list is a very small sample. There are many more theaters in need of support; perhaps you have a favorite? There are also charitable, service, advocacy and educational organizations that support theater.

I encourage you to look up any individual charities to which you’re thinking of donating on the Charity Navigator site. Some of the information available, such as revenues vs. expenses and especially salary of key personnel, are eye-opening and might help you determine which to support. (Of particular interest is the ratio between the highest-paid employee and the average compensation across the nonprofit “to determine whether compensation practices reflect industry standards while supporting the nonprofit’s mission.” The ratio should be no higher than 24.) Another great resource: ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer

It’s important to point out that some theaters and theater organizations are too new, or too small, for Charity Navigator or ProPublica to rate them: “The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.”