International Society for Music Education
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 921914647
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Kenosha, WI, USA
- Phone
- 5706903312
- Rating
- 55
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Professional Societies, Associations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $475,976
- Expenses
- $294,401
- Assets
- $181,575
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PATRICIA GONZALEZ-MORENO (PRESIDENT)
- JODY KERCHNER (SECRETARY/PRESIDENT ELECT)
- BO WAH LEUNG (TREASURER/PAST PRESIDENT)
- RYAN ZELLNER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- RYAN ZELLNER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $49,995 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to advance music education globally through advocacy, collaboration, and professional development.
What it reported doing in 2024
Isme organizes biennial world conferences that bring together music educators, researchers, and practitioners from around the globe - offering presentations, workshops, and performances that support professional growth and international collaboration. In addition, isme hosts 8 pre-conferences the week prior to the world conference. During the odd years, isme supports 5 regional conferences that occur in 5 distinct regions around the world offering localized professional development, music making sessions and 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 82% 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
MIXED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 40
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 61
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 54.9%; rating input score 55
- Program expense ratio: 88.2%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 80%; rating input score 80; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 38.1%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 54.9% of revenue deployed · 88.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $260K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $50K · 17 people listed
- Consistency: 18 of 20 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and grants
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.