Bay Area Music Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474460867
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Alameda, CA, USA
Phone
5109176050
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Performing Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$937,509
Expenses
$962,971
Assets
$680,468
Liabilities
$49,630

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Lorrie Murray (Executive Director)
  • Don Hardy (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lorrie Murray (Executive Director): $136,549 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O.

What it reported doing in 2024

Founded in 2015, the Bay Area Music Project (BAMP) provides after-school music education and social-emotional learning to culturally and economically diverse students in grades K12 in Alameda, California. BAMP serves more than 250 students annually across two locations, and no child or family is ever turned away due to financial limitations. All students receive music instruction, instruments, songbooks, nutritious snacks, and academic support at low or no cost. Students participate in a rich range of ensembles, including choral, strings, winds, brass, percussion, and ukulele, alongside music composition and production courses, with performances and workshops throughout the Bay Area. BAMPs impact has been recognized with the Alameda County Arts Leadership Award (2024), the Jefferson Award for Public Service (2023), and the California Department of Education Spotlight on Quality Award (2021).

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 84% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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

STRONG - 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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.4%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.2%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.2% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.4% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $846K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $137K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.