Sounds Like La
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 465733574
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016
- Location
- Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3109853439
- Rating
- 52
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Symphony Orchestras
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $464,829
- Expenses
- $402,652
- Assets
- $448,758
- Liabilities
- $114,752
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SHABNAM FASA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- CARON PELLETIER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- SHABNAM FASA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $99,298 total reported compensation
- JULIUS REDER CARLSON (CO-FOUNDER): $4,463 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Provide tuition-free music education to young people in los angeles county through classes, rehearsals, and concerts.
What it reported doing in 2024
Braddock instruction & meeting
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% 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
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 52
- Transparency & Controls: 69
- Accountability: 18
- Sustainability: 47
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 56.1%; rating input score 56
- Program expense ratio: 64.4%; rating input score 64
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 13.4%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.11; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 25.8%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16.8% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 56.1% of revenue deployed · 64.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $259K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.