Community Music Center of Boston Inc

Overview

Mission

Community music center of boston ("cmcb") transforms lives throughout greater boston by providing equitable access to excellent music education and arts experiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

Founded in 1978, cmcb's school programs partner with boston schools to help make music an influential part of every child's education. Cmcb's partnership with over a dozen schools provides weekly music and performing arts instruction to 2,000 students each week. Cmcb strives to provide high-quality music instruction and arts participation opportunities citywide, and provides schools with the capacity-building support necessary to ensure programs can be successfully administered and sustained. Founded at the height of boston's school segregation crisis, the school program is an important part of cmcb's legacy of service to the city of boston.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 69% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 88% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042437973
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6174827494
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Schools

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 50.2%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 61.6%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 21.3%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.14; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 50.2% of revenue deployed · 61.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $274K · 29 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • LECOLION WASHINGTON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $274,021 total reported compensation
  • ZACHARY THOMAS SHEETS (CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $123,440 total reported compensation
  • MEGHAN JASANI (CFO & COO): $121,529 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.