Cyrus T Elk Foundation for the Promulgation of Youth Music Educat

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463546124
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2013
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4152977631
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$23,922
Expenses
$20,137
Assets
$763,212
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Candler Gibson (President)

People named in this filing

  • Candler Gibson (President)
  • Douglas Streat (Secretary)
  • Brian Molina (Treasurer)

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

The Cyrus T. Elk Foundation supports other non-profit organizations, specifically those organizations working to promote, perform, and educate the public about a cappella music. The foundation also develops its own materials to provide arts education and awareness to the public. The foundation maintains a website to support these goals.

What it reported doing in 2025

Grants to a non-profit organization that performs collegiate a cappella music, conducts workshops for young singers, and works to preserve the tradition of collegiate a cappella music. Grants supported concerts for elementary, middle, and high schools.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 44
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.8%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 49.7%; rating input score 50
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: 15.8%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 37.9; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -51.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.8% of revenue deployed · 49.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.