River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300288750
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7136652700
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,075,276
Expenses
$2,145,907
Assets
$1,046,394
Liabilities
$296,274

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Alecia Lawyer (Artistic Director): $120,479 total reported compensation
  • Amy Gibbs (Managing Director): $108,715 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To shape the future of classical music by energizing, modernizing, and personalizing the concert experience.

What it reported doing in 2024

ROCO is Houston's deeply local, globally impactful 40-piece professional chamber orchestra with musicians and guest artists from around the globe. Livestreaming for free since 2013, our concerts have reached all seven continents. ROCO is one of the most prolific commissioning organizations in the US, reaching 150 world premieres, presented alongside classics and rarely-heard gems. Performing in over 75 venues in Houston, our multigenerational and multimedia-enhanced experiences are offered with a Pay-What-You-Wish ticketing model, made possible through 98% of our income being donated by a vast portfolio of supporters.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.3%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 57.3%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.4%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59.3% of revenue deployed · 57.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $120K · 25 people listed
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 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: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.