String Academy of Wi Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391677309
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4149634729
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$191,620
Expenses
$219,063
Assets
$369,519
Liabilities
$69,559

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULILLY KOHLER (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • MARQUIS GILBERT (DIRECTOR)
  • TJ HARKNESS (DIRECTOR)
  • PATTY LINN (DIRECTOR)

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 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the string academy is to provide an opportunity for excellence in the pursuit of comprehensive musical study for young violinists, violists and cellists.

What it reported doing in 2019

The string academy provides an opportunity for excellence in the pursuit of a comprehensive musical study for young violinists, violists, and cellists(ages 4-18). Alumni of the string academy are performing and teaching worldwide while others are distinguishing themselves in engineering, medicine, technology and social justice.the academy sponsors several performances each year featuring students in a wide variety of venues throughout the area. Academy students also participate regularly in local, national, and international competitions. Academy faculty are professional musicians who have special training in string pedagogy. They teach courses and conduct summer workshops for adult musicians. They also are asked to present at national conferences.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 79% 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 - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 69.4%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

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: 90%; rating input score 90; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14.3%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.69; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -9.6% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.5% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.3% of revenue deployed · 69.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $152K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2013 to 2019
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.