Knickerbocker Music Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471925449
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Westerly, RI, USA
Phone
4013155070
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Centers

Reported finances

Revenue
$768,604
Expenses
$726,169
Assets
$40,508
Liabilities
$17,499

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHARLES M ROYCE (CHAIRMAN/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • NICHOLAS C MOORE (PRESIDENT)
  • MARK CONNOLLY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK CONNOLLY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $95,541 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To preserve, celebrate, cultivate, and grow the unique style of blues that was born in westerly, Rhode Island, and expand access to music of all kinds by serving as an exciting regional performance venue and an exceptional center for music education.

What it reported doing in 2025

Performances & music education: - presenting music performances by legendary blues artists and similar culturally significant music performances. Artists performing at the center's historic music venue also offered master classes, talk-back sessions, lectures, and group jams to knickerbocker music center students. - the knickerbocker music center, with our sister organization, the united theatre and united music school, we offer a range of music education programs and performance opportunites to people of all ages, incomes and ability levels. Music lessons are given throughout the week, as well as performances on our stage on a regular bases. We also sponsor a bi-monthly youth on mic, allowing the students to perform in front of family and friends.- the knickerbocker music center suspended public programming for the last two months of the year for renovations and preparations for our partnership with united theatre.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.8%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.5%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.06; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.8% of revenue deployed · 81.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $590K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.