Roots of American Music
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 341888282
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Cleveland, OH, USA
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $335,331
- Expenses
- $291,139
- Assets
- $82,087
- Liabilities
- $22,861
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GREG THOMPSON (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHELE COLOPY (E.D. (THROUG): $24,231 total reported compensation
- TAYLOR LAMBORN (EXECUTIVE DI): $3,692 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of roots of american music is to nourish neighborhoods with the transformative power of music through education and performance.
What it reported doing in 2025
Roots accomplished the following during 2025: 1.adult day partners 328 music enrichment performances 22 different facilities serving a total of 872 persons with physical and intellectual disabilities 2.senior centers/memory care 77 music enrichment performances 9 different facilities serving a total of 532 people 3.stop the hate provided in 16 schools across northeast oh served: 976 middle and high school students 4. Cleveland montessori spring 2025 - 28 students grades 1-3 18 visits spring 2025 - 15 students grades 4 & 518 visits fall 2025 - 30 students grades 1-3 6 visits fall 2025 - 18 students grades 4 & 58 visits 5.blues is the backbone provided for 36 classes in 10 schools in cleveland serving 805 students in grades k & 2 6.live performances with community partners 13 community partner sites 36 total performances serving 2,625 adults & children 7a.fatima - food for the soul 13 visits - 670 people served 2 concerts - 117 people served 7b.barton center - food for the soul 15 visits - 313 people served 1 concert - 22 people served 7c. Fatima - lunchtime concerts 30 performances - 1437 people served 7d.fatima - summer concerts 6 concerts - 311 people served 7e.dave's market 16 performances - 1502 people served
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 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 63
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.9%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 73.7%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $15.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 13.2%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.6%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -7.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 63.9% of revenue deployed · 73.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $214K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $24K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
- 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.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.