Emerald City Music

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474275662
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2062505510
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$396,267
Expenses
$455,047
Assets
$65,012
Liabilities
$104,449

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Thom Mayes (Interim Executive Director)
  • John Robinson (President)
  • Hsing-Hui Hsu (President)
  • Sean Campbell (Incoming Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Thom Mayes (Interim Executive Director): $29,650 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Emerald City Music refreshes the chamber music experience by creating a platform of excellence where artists and audience transform one another. Our core pillars are: 1.Audience: We believe that everyone has the right and capacity to engage with music. We seek to engage the widest possible audience in the Puget Sound region as we continually learn how our stage can represent true diversity. 2.Music: Our offerings are much wider and deeper informed than any single musical term allows. The wide scope of music we present is curated to tell a story that unravels the restrictive barriers of genre, all while our global community of chamber musicians bring the highest caliber of performance to our stages. 3. Experience: We craft personal encounters between artists and audience, creating relaxed settings to engage with music. Each city we present in offers a bespoke setting that facilitates a strong connection between artists and audiences, leaving both mutually transformed.

What it reported doing in 2024

Produced seven mainstage touring performances of high-caliber classical music in Seattle, Olympia, and Bellingham WA. Forty top-tier musicians flew to the region to perform on our stages in each city. Over the course of the season we reached over 3,000 listeners with live performances.

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

SUPPORTED - 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: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.4%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 72.3%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14.8%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.14; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.61; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.4% of revenue deployed · 72.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $329K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $30K · 11 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.