Acoustic Sound Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
912103544
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Milton, WA, USA
Phone
2534288056
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$715,545
Expenses
$631,883
Assets
$502,379
Liabilities
$1,715

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Patrice Oneilll (Executive Director)
  • RACHEL Papadopoulos (President)
  • DON SHARE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • Patrice Oneilll (Executive Director): $69,305 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Acoustic Sound is committed to preserving and promoting traditional acoustic American music through presentation and education, with special attention given to the bluegrass music community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Acoustic Sound presents an annual four-day music festival featuring award-winning international, national and regional artists on four stages. The festival is built around a central theme allowing for a different in-depth focus each year. Artists are thoughtfully selected to represent both this focus and a rainbow of influences and cultures comprising the vast array of traditional acoustic music. Concerts, dances and non-stop jamming by participants are hallmarks of the festival. In addition rigorous music education programs are offered to children and young as four through college aged, and all adults. All youth education programs are pay-what-you-can. Every year, world-class luthiers display and demonstrate their singular contributions to music.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 68% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

SUPPORTED - 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: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.9%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 81.8%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.7%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.8; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.9% of revenue deployed · 81.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $517K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.