Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261507288
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
West Windsor, NJ, USA
Phone
7324462458
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Reported finances

Revenue
$265,358
Expenses
$196,677
Assets
$462,633
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Chiu-Tze Lin (Music Director and Executive Director)
  • Arlene Sengstack (President of Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra)

Highest reported compensation

  • Chiu-Tze Lin (Music Director and Executive Director): $32,680 total reported compensation
  • Joseph Lee (Conductor of Youth Orchestra): $7,900 total reported compensation
  • Hyojin Lee (Principal Cellist and Coach of Youth Orchestra): $3,850 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

As stated in the by-law of the organization the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra is organized exclusive to provide and promote educational cultural and musical services to the community. This mission shall be achieved through a variety of programs of the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra and its subsidiaries; the Youth Orchestra and the Summer Music Program.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth Orchestra - educating young people playing in ensemble and having them serve the community via music. This include performing in libraries assisted living facilities senior centers and various cultural celebration in New Jersey. Students also engaged in teaching refugee children and children in the underserved communities free music lessons. Presented 3 major concerts and 4 community outreach concerts for the year.

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 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

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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.2%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 96.5%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 25.9%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.35; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.5%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.2% of revenue deployed · 96.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $190K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $33K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 20 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.