Mandarins of Sacramento Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237350189
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9168386095
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,908,654
Expenses
$2,979,020
Assets
$1,813,991
Liabilities
$1,997,045

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dr Daniel Fong (President & CEO)

People named in this filing

  • Joseph Fong (Director)
  • Kathleen Davies (Chairman)
  • Anna Keck (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Our Mission Statement "Transforming Lives Through Performing Arts" is the goal in everything we do. We strive to promote good citizenship while learning personal and team-building skills through our many programs.

What it reported doing in 2025

Mandarins Music AcademyThe Mandarins Music Academy started with the idea of giving the gift of music to children in the Sacramento Region. It is a complete business system for providing music education for a large student population. The program conducts instrumental band classes that include woodwinds, brass and percussion. The music directors are Mandarins employees and are music education majors in college, recent graduates or local professional musicians. There are currently 40 staff members including the program directors, administrators, music directors and music advisors. The program has strategic relationships with the Elk Grove Unified School District, Gateway Community Charter Schools, and Alfred Music. Mandarins EntertainmentMandarins Entertainment is an all-inclusive professional performance ensemble that offers musical entertainment throughout the Greater Sacramento and Bay Area. Utilizing drum lines, brass ensembles, and dance troupes, Mandarins Entertainment performs annually for thousands of fans at events including Sacramento Kings games, NASCAR races, Sac Republic FC soccer matches, and former Oakland Raiders games. Additionally, Mandarins Entertainment provides drum lines for grand openings, building dedications, parades, and private gatherings.PathwaysMandarins Pathways collaborates with the Juvenile Department of Justice to offer beginning and advanced music, percussion, and literacy courses to juveniles housed within the Sacramento County Youth Detention Facility.Mandarins Event CenterThe Mandarins Event Center became the Home of the Mandarins in 2019. The 12,000 sq.ft. building is utilized as a rehearsal hall, lesson studios and office space. The Event Center is also available for rent for banquets, socials, meetings and other large-scale events. Sacramento Mandarins Drum & Bugle CorpsSacramento Mandarins Drum & Bugle Corps perform in competitive circuits, such as Drum Corps International (DCI), where they are judged on music, visual performance, general effect, and overall execution. Performances are typically complex and highly choreographed, requiring significant skill and coordination from all participants. The Mandarins have earned the title of Drum Corps International World Champions eight times and are currently a six-time World Class top-10 finalist.The Organization elected to suspend Drum Corps operations during the 2026 season and intends to resume participation in 2027.Immortal WindsImmortal Winds is an indoor performance group of brass and woodwind instrumentalists presented by the Mandarins. The group performs in arenas across Northern California and also provides educational experience for local musicians through instruction from Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps staff.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 82% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 71
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.8%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 93.3%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 21st 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -2.4%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.1; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.8% of revenue deployed · 93.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.