Gateways Music Festival Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161562873
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
5852741170
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,375,303
Expenses
$1,921,359
Assets
$1,856,642
Liabilities
$261,917

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALEXANDER LAING (PRESIDENT AND ARTISTIC DIR)

People named in this filing

  • KEARSTIN PIPER BROWN (CHAIR)
  • GREGORY EWING (TREASURER (AS OF MARCH 2025))
  • TONI-MARIE MONTGOMERY (VICE CHAIR)

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

The organization's mission is to connect and support professional classical musicians of african descent and inspire and enlighten communities through the power of performance.

What it reported doing in 2024

Gateways music festival achieved significant milestones in its mission to connect and support professional classical musicians of african descent and to enlighten and inspire communities through the power of performance. The 202425 season featured two in-person festivals, beginning with the fall 2024 festival in rochester, which welcomed over 1,000 attendees across five events and opened with the inaugural rochester day for strings, a day-long intensive for young artists. The spring 2025 festival expanded gateways' reach across rochester and New York city, presenting seven concerts, a world premiere, masterclasses, and a half-day william levi dawson symposium at carnegie hall that drew more than 3,000 participants. The season culminated in the historic return of the gateways festival orchestra to carnegie hall, performing william dawson's negro folk symphony for the first time in that hall since its 1934 premiere, alongside a live simulcast reaching thousands more. Gateways brass collective advanced its national presence with touring and residencies, including a thanksgiving day appearance at walt disney world and a residency at the cleveland institute of music. Gateways further expanded its educational impact through young musicians institute programming at both festivals. The organization launched the second season of gateways radio, commissioned and premiered damien sneed's reflections of resilience for voice and orchestra, and secured a new four-year mou with the university of rochester and eastman school of music, strengthening a foundational partnership. Gateways also expanded its investment in communications and marketing, increasing visibility for its mission and artists

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% 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

STRONG - 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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.8%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 67.1%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -39.7%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.6% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.7% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.8% of revenue deployed · 67.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 16 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 17 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $105K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.