Silk Road Project Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 043444069
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Somerville, MA, USA
- Phone
- 4132381746
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,778,469
- Expenses
- $3,737,280
- Assets
- $3,099,732
- Liabilities
- $329,791
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BEN HARTLEY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- BEN HARTLEY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PRESIDENT): $304,067 total reported compensation
- ANTHONY BARBIR (DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CLERK): $178,113 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER KLAHN (DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR): $178,113 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Silkroad creates music that engages difference, sparking radical cultural collaboration and passion-driven learning for a more hopeful and inclusive world.
What it reported doing in 2024
Uplifted voices - silkroad's key program, the silkroad ensemble, brought together a stellar lineup of performer-composers for the uplifted voices project, which included a series of musical compositions, often inspired by each artist's homeland, ancestors, community, and family, representing previously under-recognized voices from around the world, offering a fresh perspective on the history and migration of music. The project showcased a synthesis of global musical traditions and contemporary innovation, with each artist contributing their unique voice to craft a shared musical experience. The project included a seven-city tour with performances, commissions of new music, community engagement, and more.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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 total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 89
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 58.6%; rating input score 59
- Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 21.8%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 25.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 58.6% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $304K · 24 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $193K reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.