Hyde Park Jazz Festival

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263580954
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
4152605606
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$630,827
Expenses
$419,771
Assets
$521,057
Liabilities
$15,000

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • John Ellis (President)
  • Kate Dumbleton (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Kate Dumbleton (Executive Director): $55,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Organization plans and produces the two day Hyde Park Jazz Festival, enhances cultural opportunities in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and supports the Arts in Chicago.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization plans and produces the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. This annual two-day free festival started in 2006, and brings together local, national, and international artists to the South Side of Chicago, attracting 10-15,000 attendees each year. Audience members are able to experience music performed in some of the South Side's leading cultural institutions, churches, and venues, including The Logan Center for The Arts, Rockefeller Chapel, The Smart Museum, The Hyde Park Bank, Hyde Park Union Church, Augustana Church, The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, and on two outdoor stages on the Midway Plaisance. Additionally, the organization holds occasional concerts and hosts other cultural programs throughout the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.9%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Fail
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 33.5%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.24; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.9% of revenue deployed · 80.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $336K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $55K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.