Cantores in Ecclesia

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
412042868
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Sherwood, OR, USA
Phone
5037402019
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Singing, Choral

Reported finances

Revenue
$154,184
Expenses
$194,434
Assets
$165,649
Liabilities
$1,693

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Blake Applegate (Chairman, Choir & Artistic Director): $24,000 total reported compensation
  • Kristen Buhler (Director & Secretary): $5,062 total reported compensation
  • W Kellogg Thorsell (Officer-Music Librarian): $4,987 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of Cantores in Ecclesia is to preserve and promote liturgical music, especially Gregorian Chant and sacred polyphony. It is implemented through the education of children and adults in choral practice, through public concert performances and lectures, and by regular performances at liturgical services. For 26 years the group has hosted an Annual William Byrd Festival; a 2 week series of public events (lectures, concerts, and services) with invited guest artists and scholars. Special projects may include tours and sponsored artists in some years.

What it reported doing in 2025

Regular choral operations involved a varying number of adults and children: approximately 30 adults and 20 Children (ages 8-17), both together and seperately on a nearly weekly basis for liturgical services and public concerts in various locations in Oregon. An estimated 6000 (combined) hours of rehearsal are undertaken each year. The adult choir is a mix of paid professional singers (~2/3) and skilled volunteer singers (~1/3). Additional professional instrumentalists and professional singers are added to the roster for some events. Additional volunteers include parents, members of event organizing committees and those who usher or manage ticketing at concets and events. Most of the reported revenue comes from donations, but some performances earn service fees and some include ticket sales.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 69% 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.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -26.1%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 93.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $182K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $24K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.