Joseph Avenue Arts and Culture Alliance Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471841978
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
5854542787
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$213,744
Expenses
$215,452
Assets
$558,164
Liabilities
$2,090

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Neil Scheier (President)
  • Bill Ferguson (Vice President)
  • David Pacific (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • David Pacific (Executive Director): $79,735 total reported compensation
  • Bill Ferguson (Vice President): $20,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Joseph Avenue Arts and Culture Alliance provides dynamic arts and cultural experiences for underserved families and youth in a safe, inspiring place for artistic expression-instilling pride and serving as a catalyst for community transformation.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Rising Stars program is JAACA's signature education series designed to inspire and empower children and families through hands-on, high-quality arts instruction. Focused on underserved populations in the Joseph Avenue neighborhood, the program offers free dance and music education to elementary and pre-teen participants. A cornerstone of the series is the 10-week Bucket Drumming classes and Dance Fusion classes taught by instructors from The Hochstein School, culminating in the ROCstarz Celebration: a public performance that showcases students' talents and growth.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 23
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 25.3%; rating input score 25
  • Program expense ratio: 23.6%; rating input score 24
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.59; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 46.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 25.3% of revenue deployed · 23.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $51K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 25/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.