Inside the Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742210433
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Aurora, CO, USA
Phone
3033557855
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Reported finances

Revenue
$543,000
Expenses
$514,085
Assets
$207,807
Liabilities
$541,000

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Tiffany Palotto (Exec Director): $111,327 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Inside the Orchestra brings music to children cultivating music appreciation and enhancing their education through engaging interactive experience with orchestra music

What it reported doing in 2024

Tiny Tots: Tiny Tots is Inside the Orchestras flagship early-childhood program, designed for children ages seven and under and their caregivers. Featuring 32 professional orchestra musicians positioned around the audience, these concerts create an immersive musical experience that introduces young children to live orchestral music in an engaging and accessible way. At least 40% of the repertoire highlights historically underrepresented composers, including BIPOC and women. During the fiscal year, the organization presented 38 Tiny Tots concerts serving approximately 10,000 young children, caregivers, and teachers.Music of the World Concerts: Music of the World Concerts are interactive performances designed for schools, families, and community groups that introduce students to global musical traditions. Led by a bilingual conductor and featuring 16 professional musicians, these concerts provide up-close instrument demonstrations and guided exploration of diverse musical styles, helping students experience orchestral music in an engaging and culturally inclusive way. During the fiscal year, the organization presented 13 concerts serving approximately 2,700 students, educators, and community members.Chamber and Community Programs: In addition to its large ensemble concerts, Inside the Orchestra presented smaller chamber programs and interactive educational activities in schools, libraries, and community centers. These programs included Storytime Trio performances that combine live music with storytelling and movement for young children; Intro to the Orchestra Quintet programs that introduce K6 students to orchestral instruments and basic musical concepts through interactive demonstrations; Instrument Petting Zoos; and Science of Sound workshops. During the fiscal year, 85 of these programs were presented, serving approximately 3,000 young people, teachers, and caregivers.Overall Program Impact: In total, Inside the Orchestra presented 136 programs, serving more than 15,800 children, caregivers, teachers, and community members across the metro Denver area. In addition, the organization continues to offer its Curriculum Resource Hub, a free, yearlong music curriculum for ECE6th grade designed for flexible classroom use, empowering educators worldwide to integrate orchestral music into their teaching.

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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th 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; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.3%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.4; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.6; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.7%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.7% of revenue deployed · 84.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $433K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $111K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.