Choral Society of Durham
Legal name: Choral Society of Durham Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 566070665
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Aug 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018, Form 990-N 2009
- Location
- Durham, NC, US
- Phone
- (919) 560-2733
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Singing, Choral
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $257,943
- Expenses
- $203,582
- Assets
- $898,921
- Liabilities
- $279
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Mary Parker (President)
- Alex Engler (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- Mary Parker (President)
- Alex Engler (Vice President)
- Sarah Wood (Secretary)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Sharing beautiful, meaningful choral music with our community
What it reported doing in 2024
Our 169 singers performed 12 times this year; sold over 1300 tickets at two concerts and offered the rest for free; performed in 11 different venues; collaborated with 10 groups; engaged 84 professional vocal soloists and instrumentalists; and featured 12 more soloists from within the choir. Ticketed concerts comprised a holiday concert at Duke Chapel on December 22, 2024 featuring selections including Conrad Susa's _Carols and Lullabies_ and a performance of Beethoven's _Missa Solemnis_ at Baldwin Auditorium on May 18, 2025. Free concerts included a jazz concert, a Chamber Choir concert, a community singalong of Handel's _Messiah_, and performances at Carolina Meadows CCRC and Pettigrew Rehabilitation Center. On May 31, 2025 we hosted the second annual Durham Community Sing, featuring 380 singers from eight other local choral groups and members of the community who wanted to join us, performing for 128 audience members in another free concert.
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 - 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: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.3%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 70.2%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 21.1%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.42; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -4.7% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 67.3% of revenue deployed · 70.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $143K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.