Seattle Jazz Orchestra Dba Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911928901
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2065236159
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$534,947
Expenses
$588,759
Assets
$155,023
Liabilities
$30,285

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUSAN COLLIGAN (President)
  • SUSAN JENKINS (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL S BROCKMAN (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $88,462 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To share the joy of live jazz music by fostering a superb, proffessional jazz orchestra, to educate the next generation to perform and treasure jazz music, and to enrich the community with new artistic works, restored classics, and professional recordings.

What it reported doing in 2025

Education: students were instructed in jazz techniques. The educational focus was placed on students and schools that did not have a vibrant band presence.

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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.8%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 89.7%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.1%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.26; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.8% of revenue deployed · 89.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $528K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.