Blues Kids Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 270678661
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2011–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 7738415262
- Rating
- 94
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Performing Arts Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $157,700
- Expenses
- $162,678
- Assets
- $5,245
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- FERNANDO JONES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
People named in this filing
- FERNANDO JONES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- DR GRACE DAWSON (secretary)
- TODD STEPHENS ESQ (DIRECTOR)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Establish for youth and educators to preserve promote and perform blues music
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 72% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 96
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 29
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.4%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 94.4%; rating input score 94
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -3.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.03; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 97.4% of revenue deployed · 94.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $154K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2011 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.