Pianos for People

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474084512
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
St Louis, MO, USA
Phone
3142855852
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Reported finances

Revenue
$547,117
Expenses
$557,708
Assets
$1,071,775
Liabilities
$2,131

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JIM MESSINA (PRESIDENT)
  • JEANNE KNOWLES TOWNSEND (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MATT BRINKMANN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THRU 03/24))
  • ANDREW AMENT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREW AMENT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $66,389 total reported compensation
  • MATT BRINKMANN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THRU 03/24)): $24,364 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pianos for people inspires successful futures by providing free access to the transformational power of the piano. For families & individuals with limited resources, we break down financial barriers & use the piano as a gateway to empowerment, community & self-esteem.

What it reported doing in 2024

Summer camps: pfp provides free summer camps for youth at a variety of locations throughout the st. Louis area. We operate beginning piano camps, intro to music camps, and our multidisciplinary turn up your talent performance camps, held in partnership with opera theatre of st. Louis. Camps are held in south st. Louis city and in ferguson as well as a growing number of partner locations, including branches of the st. Louis public library. Our camps served 200 students in 2024. They also serve as our chief recruitment tool for our piano schools with many of our camp attendees continuing with lessons in the fall.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.2%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $41.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.92; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.6% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.2% of revenue deployed · 89% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $496K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $66K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.