Etm-la Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
870776958
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Burbank, CA, USA
Phone
8184337600
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,238,886
Expenses
$3,081,151
Assets
$4,993,019
Liabilities
$641,352

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • VICTORIA LANIER (EXECUTIVE DIR.): $153,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Founded in 2006, etm-la's mission is to provide and promote the integration of music into the curricula of under-resourced schools in order to enhance students' academic performance and creative and general development.

What it reported doing in 2024

In the 2024-2025 school year, etm-la reached approximately 18,000 children in 41 los angeles partner and consulting schools with weekly comprehensive music instruction as a core subject throughout the school year - disciplines include: general music, choir, band, rock band, orff, and music technology - taught by professional music teachers who use a sequential, skills-based curriculum that meets national and state content standards.etm-la's partner schools in 2024-2025 were: aldama elementary, aragon elementary, ascot elementary, aspire gateway, aspire jca, aspire titan, bursch elementary, cantara elementary, carlos santana arts academy, carver elementary, castelar elementary, centinela elementary, craig williams elementary, dickison elementary, dolores mission school, dorris place elementary, el dorado elementary, ernie pyle elementary, fenton primary center, gil garcetti learning academy, hazeltine elementary, hooper avenue elementary, kelso elementary, la leadership academy middle school, la leadership academy primary, mckinley elementary (burbank), mckinley elementary (compton), oak st. Elementary, payne p-8 steam academy, providencia elementary, ramona elementary, toluca lake elementary, Washington elementary (bellflower), Washington elementary (compton), woodruff elementary, and woodworth-monroe tk-8 academy. Five (5) schools received consultant services: fenton avenue charter school, new horizon school, rio vista elementary, roosevelt elementary, and valley view elementary. Mckinley elementary (burbank) and valley view elementary graduated at the end of the school year.etm-la employed 34 music teachers and 6 music teacher interns, 1 director of programs, 1 director of community affairs and partnerships, and 3.3 full-time equivalent instructional supervisors at fy end.etm-la provided ongoing mentoring and extensive training with monthlyobservations and professional development for music teachers and interns. We align with state and regional efforts to support teacher workforce development, and internally graduated 4 music teacher interns to our music teaching staff.working closely with each school principal, etm-la designed a music program that addresses each individual partner school's needs in under-resourced communities. Etm-la continues to build collaboration between music teachers and academic teachers, to engage the parents and overall community, and to guide school leaders to create strategies for long-term programming and self-sustainability.etm-la continued to partner with school districts across los angeles county, providing weekly music instruction, ensemble programs, teacher professional development (for emerging, mid-career, and veteran), and access to instrumental materials. Etm-la remains committed to nurturing the lives of students and their families. We continue to invest in recovery efforts to restore quality music education to students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.7%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: 95.7%; rating input score 96; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 41.2%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.62; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49.7% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 23 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $153K · 23 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.