Northwest Choirs

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237409990
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2065243234
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Singing, Choral

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,061,806
Expenses
$1,204,176
Assets
$937,688
Liabilities
$171,923

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARCIA MURRAY (PRESIDENT)
  • MARIA JOHNSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (UNTIL 06/2024))

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIA JOHNSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (UNTIL 06/2024)): $90,916 total reported compensation
  • JACOB WINKLER (MUSIC DIRECTOR): $87,550 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 mission of northwest choirs is to provide the highest level of music education and vocal performance opportunity to the boys, and young men and women of the seattle region, and to provide the local community with a unique choral resource.

What it reported doing in 2024

Northwest choirs - northwest boychoir & vocalpoint! Seattle is an inclusive and equitable organization annually serving 150+ youth ages 6-18 years of age. Northwest choirs is committed to assisting families with financial aid so all eligible youth may participate fully. Tuition fees only cover 50% of the budget and the remaining income is made up from performances, fundraising, donations, and grants. All rehearsals and program activities are held after-school at northwest choirs' facility in the university heights center in seattle.in 2024, northwest boychoir & vocalpoint! Seattle presented 43 live performances to an audience of over 26,000. We were also featured on youtube and classical king fm. In addition, some of our recordings are being distributed through distrokid, which has broadened the audience to the world-wide web and online music streaming platforms. For greater community access, northwest choirs keeps ticket prices affordable and gives discounts to seniors and students. Free tickets are offered to teachers, veterans, and low-income community members.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 67% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 56.2%; rating input score 56
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.78; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64% of revenue deployed · 56.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $677K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 13 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $109K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.