Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943259903
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Fair Oaks, CA, USA
Phone
9165369065
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Singing, Choral

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$497,231
Expenses
$604,929
Assets
$369,349
Liabilities
$23,416

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • James McCormick (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • James McCormick (President & CEO): $60,000 total reported compensation
  • Donald Kendrick (Artistic Dir): $40,000 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 provide world-class choral orchestral music for the people of the Greater Sacramento region and beyond.

What it reported doing in 2024

A Lerner & Loewe Celebration May 3, 2025 SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center 1301 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814While the SCSOs mission is to provide world-class choral orchestral music to families in the Sacramento region and beyond, we are, now and then, delighted to feature broadway music in our concerts.The delightful matinee brough back a tone of memories for the approximate 1700 people who attended the concert. The concert saluted the immortal shows of Camelot, Paint Your Wagon, Gigi, Brigadoon and My Fair Lady.The audience even got to sing along on My Fair Ladys I Could Have Danced All NightDonald Kendrick once again conducted our chorus and orchestra. This lively performance featured soloists: Leslie Katter, Soprano Deborah Rosengaus, Mezzo, Noel Anthony Escobar, Tenor and Eugene Brancoveanu (a last-minute replacement) We had a well-attended (approximately 250) post-concert reception in the lobby to meet the artists. Lots of fun photos and a chance to continue connecting with our constituents.

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

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.6%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.7%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.5%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.3% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.9% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.6% of revenue deployed · 79.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $481K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.