Saecula Choir Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812652848
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Haven, CT, USA
Phone
5169839555
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$52,519
Expenses
$66,644
Assets
$492,330
Liabilities
$80,025

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THOMAS BRAND (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • THOMAS BRAND (PRESIDENT): $16,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Saecula choir foundation transforms lives through choral music by providing music education and performance opportunities to individuals of diverse backgrounds.

What it reported doing in 2024

Ensembles saecula schola cantorum is a one-on-a-part laboratory-style vocal ensemble providing advanced sight-singing and sight-conducting opportunities for exceptionally talented musicians of all ages. As a program specifically designed to foster professionalism and individual accountability, the schola is of particular value to exceptionally talented school-aged musicians who would never otherwise have access to such rigorous and fast- paced music-making experiences prior to college or graduate school. At each session, members read through several unfamiliar pieces, rehearse them briefly, and then present them to a small audience. Participants coach one another and take turns conducting. Repertoire includes renaissance polyphony and choral chamber music of all periods. During 2022, the ensemble performed compline services at several churches in Connecticut, including seymour congregational church in seymour, st. John's episcopal church in waterbury, and st. John's episcopal church in Washington. Saecula singers is an intergenerational treble-voice chamber choir providing opportunities for gifted singers of diverse backgrounds (ages 7 through adult) to develop conducting skills, leadership, confidence, and stage presence in a challenging yet supportive environment. The group performed in several events at st. John's episcopal church in Washington, Connecticut. Outreach activities saecula choral bridge is a new summer internship program in which outstanding music students from local colleges and universities serve as mentors and teachers-in-training at educational camps for at-risk youth. The inaugural choral bridge project was established in 2022 in collaboration with horizons at the foote school, an award-winning, tuition-free, academic and enrichment program serving low-income public school students from the new haven community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 59.5%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -26.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.39; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 24%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -28.8% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 59.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $40K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $16K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.