Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237121950
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2674949950
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$528,023
Expenses
$509,988
Assets
$270,210
Liabilities
$18,933

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAURA TEMOYAN (COHRUS PRESIDENT AND BOARD MEMBER)
  • FLORENCE T GARDNER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EX OFFICIO)

Highest reported compensation

  • FLORENCE T GARDNER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EX OFFICIO): $88,260 total reported compensation
  • DOMINICK DIORIO (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, EX OFFICIO): $57,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To foster artistry, beauty & belonging by singing together to illuminate shared human experiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the fiscal year, mendelssohn chorus of philadelphia (mcp) presented its 151st season, "it's time," with five major productions serving over 1,500 attendees. Programs included all-philly big sing (september 2024), which brought together choral leaders from seven organizations and over 400 singers for an afternoon of communal singing; mass for the endangered (october 2024), the philadelphia premiere of sarah kirkland snider's work with the chamber orchestra of philadelphia; a feast of carols (december 2024), featuring traditional and contemporary works including four new commissions; the sold-out never one thing (february 2025); and on the horizon (april 2025), the world premiere of melissa dunphy's climate change commission developed collaboratively with commonwealth youth choir singers. Mcp also launched the joyful abundance: emerging artist commissioning program, pairing emerging composers with poets and providing cash awards and mentorship. Additionally, mcp performed the glorious sound of christmas with the philadelphia orchestra and embarked on a three-city canadian tour featuring the world premiere of vigil for love, commissioned and written by artistic director dominick diorio in honor of former board chair charlotte sibley.

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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 67.1%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 3.4%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.6%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65% of revenue deployed · 67.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $342K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.