47 Palmer Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 043255365
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Cambridge, MA, USA
- Phone
- 6174925300
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,307,387
- Expenses
- $2,403,266
- Assets
- $514,090
- Liabilities
- $183,066
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
People named in this filing
- James Patrick Kelly (Director & Treasurer)
- Alice Bruce (Director)
- Jaime D'Almeida (Director & Clerk)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
See Page 1, Part I
What it reported doing in 2024
Education - See Schedule OEducationEducation - Passim School of MusicFrom July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, the Passim School of Music served 746 students through 144 classes, voice lessons, and workshops. The intimate, inclusive environment is specially designed to foster a sense of community across students and instructors. Master classes and workshops give students an opportunity to work closely with their favorite artists and to learn specific techniques from the masters. The School is for adults and does not award degrees or certificates.Education - Iguana Music FundThe Fund, originated in 2009, gives grants to New England-based artists to help develop their careers or assist their community-service efforts. In general, between 250-300 musicians apply and between 20 and 30 receive grants. Passim holds an annual spring celebration of these artists at its Club, where grant recipients perform. Those unable to be present usually send videos that are played to the audience. Artists are generally in their 20s or 30s and while many come from or have roots in the Boston area, they all have a strong New England connection. Two grantees were Grammy nominees in prior years.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 26
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 79.9%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 76.6%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 79.9% of revenue deployed · 76.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.