Operation Song Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465442758
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Phone
8449677664
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$551,729
Expenses
$453,556
Assets
$163,590
Liabilities
$36,612

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BOB LEONARD (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • BOB LEONARD (PRESIDENT)
  • DENNIS BUCHANAN (DIRECTOR)
  • MIKE SISTAD (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

Operation song's mission is to empower veterans and active duty military to tell their stories through the process of songwriting in creative and therapeutic settings.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization pairs professional songwriters with veterans, active military and their families to help them tell their stories through song by holding weekly workshops in Tennessee and group retreats throughout the u.s.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 86
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.8%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.8%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.36; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.8% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $402K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.