Rochester Oratorio Society Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 166052456
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Rochester, NY, USA
- Phone
- 5854732234
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Singing, Choral
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $197,961
- Expenses
- $286,716
- Assets
- $399,355
- Liabilities
- $8,871
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jeff Moran (President)
- Ben Wilmott (Vice-President)
People named in this filing
- Jeff Moran (President)
- Ben Wilmott (Vice-President)
- Nicole Prahler (Secretary)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of ROS is to produce live choral music of the highest quality, engaging and educating the Rochester, New York community in numerous musical genres, and gratifying our volunteer singers with the professionalism of their art.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Rochester Oratorio Society, Inc., (est. 1945) presents choral music of the highest quality that engages, challenges, and delights members and audiences alike. From its beginnings as a traditional community chorus, ROS now supports five main endeavors: The 140-voice Symphonic Choir presents 2-4 concerts per season and collaborates with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Humanistic, collaborative, often multi-media performances are our new tradition, with an ever-increasing diversity of repertoire, from the 17th-21st centuries and representing across gender and race/ethnicity.(Continued on Schedule O)Resonanz, a 24-voice community outreach ensemble offering educational, entertaining concerts in classrooms, libraries, civic events, corporate events and private parties, and historical programs at venues such as The National Women's Rights Historical Park.Education: after-school instruction for urban youth in partnership with ROCmusic Collaborative, reaching about 40 students per academic year; Choral Scholar and Fellow programs which facilitate participation in our choirs by high school-aged vocalists and university vocal performance interns; 4-10 in-school performances per academic year for RCSD classes and assemblies.Our annual Rochester International Vocal Competition, which fosters the careers of professional vocal performing artists, attracting 236 applicants from 10 countries and 29 US states in 2023. Starting as a local event in 2007, RIVC has grown to become an essential career step for aspiring solo vocalists of international stature. The competition now includes an Emerging Artist prize as well as prizes in the Professional category.Arts Connexions, a new series of concerts exploring the intersection of diverse cultures/ethnicities with classical music. 2-3 performances per season, ticketed events. Every production includes an educational program at a local school or library. The program is primarily supported by contributions.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 75%; rating input score 75
- Program expense ratio: 51.8%; rating input score 52
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -44.8%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 75% of revenue deployed · 51.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $149K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 52/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.