Bravo Waukegan

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510678197
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2011
Location
Lake Forest, IL, USA
Phone
8477225821
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$279,476
Expenses
$213,352
Assets
$287,345
Liabilities
$392

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Louise Keats (Executive Director)
  • Don Eisenhauer (President)
  • Glen Roberts (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Louise Keats (Executive Director): $69,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Waukegan public school students' growth through music.

What it reported doing in 2025

INSTRUMENT CONNECTION PROGRAM: This program reaches out to the Waukegan Public School students to provide them with necessary instruments and instrument supplies in order to participate in various musical experiences that will promote education, experience, and growth that they may not otherwise be able to participate in. This program receives donations of used instruments and then repairs them, cleans them, and offers them to Waukegan students that are interested in learning the instrument. Some of the refurbished instruments are sold at cost to students who would like to "Own Your Own." All other donated instruments and musical supplies are eventually given to the Waukegan Public Schools for use in classrooms, not always in the same year that it was donated. INCOME NOTES: $44,582 of noncash instruments were donated in 2025; $10,000 was a foundation donation specifically restricted to the "Own Your Own" program; $4,661 was from a minimal charge for new or refurbished instruments that were purchased by students. EXPENSE NOTES: $11,642 of the 2025 noncash instruments donated were given to the Waukegan Public Schools; $690 of 2025 donated instruments were junked; $5,506 were charges paid to refurbish instruments and/or to purchase new instruments for students; $40 was from the purchase of a needed instrument for a Waukegan Public School that was then donated to them.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 43
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 40.9%; rating input score 41
  • Program expense ratio: 52.7%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.7%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.35; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.3%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -14% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.4% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 40.9% of revenue deployed · 52.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $112K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 43 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 41/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.