Allegro the Chamber Orchestra of Lancaster

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311795659
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Lancaster, PA, USA
Phone
7172888461
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$244,365
Expenses
$254,496
Assets
$5,428
Liabilities
$17,908

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAUL E RICHER II (CEO)
  • JON CLEMENS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • PAUL E RICHER II (CEO): $24,002 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN H NORCROSS (ARTISTIC DIR): $15,900 total reported compensation
  • CAROLINE E BURNS (EXECUTIVE DI): $7,581 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To expand the appreciation and love for classical music across multiple generations in lancaster county.

What it reported doing in 2024

Allegro makes great music accessible in new, friendly and playful ways. Allegro preserves music making for future generations and finds new audiences for classical music. The programs are designed to be welcoming, engaging and affordable, and the diverse performances impact all ages. The group focuses on master works for small orchestra and is committed to providing performances to those who have little contact with great composers. Allegro performed a total of 8 ticketed concerts with 1,373 attendees (in person and livestream). Allegro began a partnership with the wheatland chorale to form the wheatland chorale festival singers, a group that joins the allegro orchestra to perform major choral/orchestral works. The singers had a soft premier at allegro's christmas concert and a more offical premier for the july 2025 performance.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.5%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 73.5%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.1%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 3.3; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.8%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.5% of revenue deployed · 73.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $187K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $24K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.