Berkeley Community Chorus & Orchestra
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 942734159
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021
- Location
- Berkeley, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5104339599
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Music
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $405,932
- Expenses
- $393,392
- Assets
- $520,380
- Liabilities
- $49,648
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HESTER BRADBURY (CO-PRESIDENT)
- ELLEN ROSENFIELD (CO-PRESIDENT)
- IGNACIO DAYRIT (VICE PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- HESTER BRADBURY (CO-PRESIDENT)
- ELLEN ROSENFIELD (CO-PRESIDENT)
- IGNACIO DAYRIT (VICE PRESIDENT)
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
Berkeley community chorus & orchestra now in its 60th year has preserved three founding principles over the years: we acceept singers regardless of qualification and experience we give concerts of significant symphonic choral works with a live professional orchestra and our concerts are offered free to the public.
What it reported doing in 2024
Bcco had 240 community choristers hired a professional orchestra of appr 50 musicians and guest soloists and engaged five conductors and accompanists. The chorus weekly rehearsals september-june were available in person and via livestream. To conclude each semester in january and june 2025 bcco presented a cycle of three free concerts across a weekend at hertz hall on the uc berkeley campus to appreciative audiences.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 94
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 48
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.8%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 96.8%; rating input score 97
- Fundraising efficiency: $91.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.1%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.32; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 93.8% of revenue deployed · 96.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $381K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 39 of 42 current checks pass · 3 findings to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2014 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX Insurance column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.