City Strings United Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 455118370
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Roxbury, MA, USA
- Phone
- 5082411221
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Music
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $524,842
- Expenses
- $431,129
- Assets
- $252,271
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BITHYAH ISRAEL COPELAND (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- BITHYAH ISRAEL COPELAND (PRESIDENT & CEO): $91,670 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Mission: city strings united's mission (csu) is to promote youth development in historically excluded communities through access to high-quality, student-centered music education and ensemble performance.
What it reported doing in 2025
To establish and provide for a stringed instrument learning program for the youth in the inner city who otherwise would not have access to such a program. During the year ended december 31, 2025, city strings united, inc accomplished the following:- enrollment increased by 33% - now have 100 students enrolled in the core music learing program- employed 6 apprentices who provide peer mentoring, community outreach, social media and program development support- expanded the program to include seniors on the move in partnership with the roxbury ymca- doubled the number of recruitment partners and deepenedour collaboration with existing program support partners resulting in 100 students served and a waitlist of dozens of students who will begin in the fall of 2026- current partners include celebrity series of boston, arts & business council of greater boston, epiphany school, roxbury ymca, boston centers for youth & families, twelfth baptist church, and seniors on the move
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 78
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 58.3%; rating input score 58
- Program expense ratio: 70.3%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $38.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th 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: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 17.9%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 21.3%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 32.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 58.3% of revenue deployed · 70.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $303K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $92K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.