Society for Preservation & Encrgmnt of Barbershop Quartet Singing Amer
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 900402357
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2013
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 3476880059
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $63,327
- Expenses
- $61,466
- Assets
- $11,636
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Lawrence Bomback (President)
People named in this filing
- Jackie Sunderland (Board Member)
- Kara McGee (Board Member)
- Mika Nagashima (Board Member)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Founded in 2008, the Hell's Kitchen, NY chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich American tradition of barbershop harmony. As a chapter of SPEBSQSA-also known as the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS)-we are part of an international organization of more than 20,000 members committed to advancing barbershop as an art form, enriching lives through singing, and serving our communities. The chapter performs, competes, and operates as Gotham Chorus and Voices of Gotham. With more than 120 members and growing, the chapter is a dues-paying organization that includes high school and college students, professional actors and musicians, and people of all ages and diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds who share a love of singing.
What it reported doing in 2025
General chorus activities for Hell's Kitchen Chapter to propagate barbershop artform, including weekly rehearsals at least 45 weeks of the year which typically includes performances at 2 competitions annually, local performances at Senior Centers and other community venues, and commissioned barbershop quartet and small group performances throughout the year.
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 98% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.1%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- 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: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: 2.9%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -3.3% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 97.1% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $61K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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: 4 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.