Sound of the Rockies

Legal name: Denver Mile High Chapter SPEBSQSA Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
846044526
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3039951577
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$105,577
Expenses
$154,450
Assets
$61,518
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • George Davidson (Executive Director)
  • Sam Larsen (President - Sound of the Rockies)
  • Adam Mahan (President - Executive Council)
  • Mark Cole (President - Timberliners)

People named in this filing

  • George Davidson (Executive Director)
  • David Symonds (Treasurer - Executive Council)
  • Sam Larsen (President - Sound of the Rockies)

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

Our mission is to enrich and inspire our communities by sharing a passion for making beautiful music.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, the Mile High Chapter maintained a full performance, travel and competition schedule, with three shows at the University of Denvers Newman Center for the Performing Arts including a musical version of the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Reaching out to the next generation of singers, the chapter provided a free youth camp at Mapleton Arts Center in Thornton, Colorado followed by an evening concert. The spring and fall (Cheyenne, Wyoming) Rocky Mountain District conventions and Harmony University (Denver in July) gave members opportunities for performance, education and competition. In the fall, the chapters Ready Set Sing program offered free voice lessons to engage the wider community and cultivate new talent. The Sound of the Rockies chorus scored first in the Rocky Mountain District competition again. The Sound of the Rockies and the Timberliners choruses performed at the Barbershop Harmony Society International Convention in Cleveland, Ohio in July and the Sound of the Rockies placed 8th out of 34 choruses in the international competition, which included choruses from around the world.

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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.4%; rating input score 97
  • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -46.3%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.4; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -9.6% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $150K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.