Play on Philly
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 453754114
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Phone
- 2157291863
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Music
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,897,859
- Expenses
- $2,135,244
- Assets
- $2,323,857
- Liabilities
- $88,124
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jessica Zweig (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Jessica Zweig (Executive Director): $128,891 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Play on philly provides underserved children in philadelphia, a transformative music education experience that develops and inspires the behaviors and personal skills needed for a successful life.
What it reported doing in 2024
Pop music centers: through our pop music centers, we positively impact students' academic achievement and pro-social behavior by developing the emotional, cognitive and behavioral skills necessary for a successful life. Music center students engage in intensive music instruction both before and after school for a total of 8 hours a week throughout the school year and four weeks of full-day instruction during the summer, totaling up to 400 hours of musical training. Students are loaned one of fourteen standard orchestral instruments at no cost and, collectively, participate in over 25 performances a year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 88% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 68.2%; rating input score 68
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -12.5%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 68.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $129K · 23 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.