Cantus
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 411934424
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Phone
- 6124350046
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Singing, Choral
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,472,751
- Expenses
- $1,471,602
- Assets
- $928,878
- Liabilities
- $109,752
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHELLE QUIALA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHELLE QUIALA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $74,272 total reported compensation
- JEREMY WONG (DIRECTOR): $65,374 total reported compensation
- ALEX NISHIBUN (DIRECTOR): $59,173 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Cantus gives voice to shared human experience by inspiring audiences through song and word, sparking new depths of understanding and empathy.
What it reported doing in 2024
Education: central to cantus' mission is educating the next generation of choral singers and enriching the musical experience of singers of all ages, through workshops, masterclasses, and side-by-side rehearsals and performances. In the 2024-25 season, cantus lived out this aspect of its mission by conducting workshops connected to touring programs, for high school and college students in the communities hosting tour performances. Locally, cantus partnered with southwest high school in minneapolis for a year-long high school residency program, culminating in a public concert in march, 2025. The ensemble also served as clinicians and leaders of a day-long choral music festival in march, 2025, for high school tenors and basses; more than 110 singers from 17 different schools participated in the festival, which was sponsored by the Minnesota chapter of the american choral directors association. Both of these educational initiatives are now woven into the ensemble's annual calendar, as are the workshops and masterclasses on tour.
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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 62
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.9%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 67.2%; rating input score 67
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 18th 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: 0.1%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.5%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 67.9% of revenue deployed · 67.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $989K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $74K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.