Oregon Bravo Youth Orchestras

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462649265
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
9712550077
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$906,544
Expenses
$1,008,367
Assets
$443,960
Liabilities
$99,404

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CYNTHIA MACLEOD (PRESIDENT)
  • NEAL SPINLER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • NEAL SPINLER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $91,309 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Bravo youth orchestras serves diverse populations of students by providing mentorship opportunities and multiple pathways to engage in the arts. Through its programs, bravo promotes social justice, (continued on schedule o)provides social and emotional support, and helps boost academic achievement while supporting the development of creative, confident, community-minded artists.

What it reported doing in 2024

Overall, bravo offers dynamic in-school and after school programs that cultivate teamwork, self-control, and focused attention through intensive orchestral instruction and performances. During the year ended june 30, 2025, the organization incurred program service expenses in the following major categories. The after-school program - activities at bravo include full orchestra rehearsals, sectionals with a low student-to-teacher ratio, choral singing and solfge training, visits by guest artists, including regional and international musicians, and frequent performances at venues around portland. The in-school program - bravo provides introductory music residencies to preschool programs. The in-school program is operated in close partnership with pps-classroom teachers and staff. Some benefits are: development of fine motor skills, increased family/school engagement, and establishing a technical foundation for the more intensive after-school program. Bravo high school ambassador program - bravo's ambassador ensemble is our music and skill based program that gives young adults the opportunity to share their musical talents through performing within the community. Ambassadors also learn skills associated with events such as promotion, marketing, box office, event management, sound production, artistic programming, and more.bravo community orchestra (bco) - bco is a multi-generational ensemble that rehearses weekly and performs together in north portland three times a year. It is a musical hub that brings together young students from the region, local university students, and experienced community musicians.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 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: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.6%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 57.3%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.2%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.6% of revenue deployed · 57.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $577K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 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 57/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.