Catholic Liturgical Ensemble Formation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873479317
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5138073969
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religion Related N.E.C.
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$100,018
Expenses
$84,716
Assets
$68,644
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

People named in this filing

  • ROBERT A FISHER (BOARD TREASURER)
  • MARY LOU CANTRELL (CHAIR OF THE BOARD)
  • KENNETH GILMAN (VICE-CHAIR OF THE BOARD)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

A desire to facilitate full, active participation in the catholic liturgy through supportive training, education, and an active network of musicians and liturgists.

What it reported doing in 2025

The clef summer program, held annually at the jesuit spiritual center in milford, Ohio, is the organization's flagship offering. Ensemble musicians from across the country gather for an immersive week of music, prayer, liturgical study, and community. It's an opportunity for attendees to expand and enhance their musical skills and liturgical knowledge while also renewing their spirit. Clef also partners with parishes and dioceses to offer regional ensemble workshops and provides free online resources through clef life. These initiatives extend clef's mission by offering practical and spiritual support to ensemble musicians in a variety of settings

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 89.7%; rating input score 90
  • 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.3%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 51.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76% of revenue deployed · 89.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $76K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 14 of 14 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.