El Sistema Santa Cruz

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844998415
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Phone
8314210920
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,116,556
Expenses
$768,605
Assets
$1,247,862
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Barbara Lawrence (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Isabelle Tuncer (Executive Dir.): $71,925 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To empower the youth and kids of Watsonville and Pajaro Valley by providing them with the keys to unlock their musical heritage and the tools to construct their creative and social legacies through music education.

What it reported doing in 2024

El Sistema Santa Cruz/Pajaro Valley served 1,200 students through a range of programs, including specialized music education for students with special needs, pre-orchestra programs at several elementary schools, and a full orchestra program. The organization also offered an audio recording program and summer camps opportunities. Students showcased their talents through numerous concerts and performances, including school events and community outreach, helping them build confidence. These initiatives promoted skill development in communication, motor coordination, and emotional expression, and provided valuable exposure to high-profile events and career development through the audio recording program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 78% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 - 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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.7%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $36.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 5th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 31.2%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.62; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 42.4% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.7% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $666K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Independent members within voting members did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.