When your passion is the performing arts, it can be challenging to focus on the nuts and bolts side of running a successful nonprofit.
That’s why the Altadena Music Theatre turned to Jericho Road Pasadena for expert guidance. JRP introduced her to volunteer Jonathan Gordon, an Alhambra-based senior accountant at a CPA firm. On the side, Jonathan enjoys helping people in the performing arts learn about fundraising and grant writing processes — making him the ideal candidate to take the organization’s accounting to the pro level.
Altadena Music Theatre was founded by recording artist and songwriter Sarah Azcarate, a lifelong Southern Californian who started recording professionally in Nashville at sixteen. At the height of the pandemic, Sarah moved to Altadena and began creating a nonprofit that would enrich the Los Angeles community through live musical theatre, arts advocacy and developmental youth programs.
Sarah quickly saw the need to establish and maintain a top-notch bookkeeping system—not only for budgeting but to strengthen both the organization’s grant applications and its negotiations with the city.
Jonathan hit the ground running, immediately saving AMT money by steering Sarah to a low-cost source for Quickbooks software. Having given the Theatre staff the tools it needed to create accurate financials, he set up their file and reconciled 2023 so they had accurate data for their immediate needs. He included Sarah all the way so she understood the process and could perform the basic functions herself.
Sarah found Jonathan not only highly knowledgeable, efficient and helpful, but passionate about what he does. Most critically, she says, “he taught us how to use these systems to keep our accounting organized going forward. That will help us immeasurably in budgeting for future projects.” Sarah says the Theatre feels much more secure moving into its 2024 season of bringing quality musical theatre to the community—including an October production of Guys and Dolls at the open air amphitheater.
For Jonathan, eager to gain experience in non-profit finances, the experience was just as rewarding. “I’d been trying to find volunteer opportunities for some time, but they never worked out,” he says. “JRP was able to connect me to an organization that needed my help and was fully committed to working with me.”
Photo credits: Altadena Music Theatre
Thanks to volunteer Linda Taubenreuther for writing JRP social media posts!