Creative Ability Development Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471611231
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
5852446910
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$342,202
Expenses
$438,493
Assets
$918,040
Liabilities
$358,074

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Alice Kanack (Vice Chair/Executive Direc): $86,189 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See Schedule OThe Kanack School of Musical Artistry is the not-for-profit epicenter of Creative Ability Development (CAD) within our community and internationally. We provide an enriching, nurturing, and inclusive environment where all can grow to reach their fullest potential: artistically, creatively, socially, and intellectually. CAD defined: a pedagogical system which uses disciplined musical improvisation to develop the creative part of the brain, to heighten each student's innate musicality, and to enhance creative ability across multiple intellectual pursuits.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Kanack School of Musical Artistry has had a rich history in the Rochester community for over 20 years. We provide students of all ages a warm, disciplined, and non-competitive environment in which to develop their musical artistry. We offer private lessons in violin, viola, cello, piano, voice, flute, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, ukulele, and banjo. Because the school was founded on a combination of the philosophy of Creative Ability Development and the Suzuki Method, we strongly believe group classes are crucial to the growth of musical artistry. Any day of the week students have access to many classes. (Continued on Schedule O)CAD improvisation classes, Suzuki repertoire classes, orchestra, fiddle, bluegrass bands, music theory and composition, chorus, opera and musical theater scenes, and piano duets are all available to our students. These classes not only help to develop their musical talent, but also to develop social skills that will aid them in life. We offer our group classes at no additional charge to private lesson tuition so that every student has the same access to these important opportunities.The Kanack School of Musical Artistry also offers a wide range of summer camps including traditional orchestral and chamber music, musical theater, adult chamber music, and fiddle. The Kanack School of Musical Artistry also has an open-door policy for teachers from around the world seeking to learn more about Creative Ability Development. We also offer teacher training sessions locally and internationally.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 78.2%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -28.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.09; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 78.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $343K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $86K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.