Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341370528
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015
Location
Oberlin, OH, USA
Phone
4407753059
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$257,292
Expenses
$254,805
Assets
$354,646
Liabilities
$6,247

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Nathan Holaway (Executive Director)
  • Colin Holter (Executive Director)
  • Manda Bennett (Vice President)
  • Audrey John Melzer (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Nathan Holaway (Executive Director): $57,003 total reported compensation
  • Colin Holter (Executive Director): $37,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra provides exceptional musical education through a variety of performance opportunities for young musicians of all backgrounds in an inclusive community of learning and growth.

What it reported doing in 2024

This organization provided weekly instruction in orchestra performance and musicianship to over 200 children. Two concerts were held during the year. Groups included: Philharmonia, Sinfonietta, Wind Symphony, Amati Strings, Chamber Music Extension, Symphonic Band, Summer Symphony, and Summer Winds.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.1%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 85.9%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 37.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.1% of revenue deployed · 85.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $219K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $57K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.