Teton Music School

What it reported doing in 2024

Teton Music School (TMS) provides year-round music education in Teton County, Wyoming. Founded in 2019, TMS now serves more than 300 students each year with 16 faculty as a Resident Organization of The Center for the Arts. In our sixth year, we strengthened private instruction, ensembles, summer programs, and community partnerships that connect music with learning and well-being. Highlights included expanded student performance opportunities, a sold-out Taylor Swift Tribute, and TMS Fest 2025, our all-school annual student showcase. Scholarships and financial aid broadened access for families across the valley. See Schedule O for program detail. Private InstructionOne-on-one lessons are the foundation of TMS learning for youth and adults. Professional musicians teach guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, drums, voice, woodwinds, violin, viola, cello, songwriting, music production, and more, meeting students at every stage. In 2024-25 TMS delivered 5,847 individual lessons to 232 students. Youth Group Learning and EnsemblesStudents build skills, confidence, and teamwork in our group offerings, which include rock bands for grades 4-12, Rock Band Prep, Youth Choir, After-School Strings, Bucket Band, production labs, and Music Together for ages 0-5 with caregivers. In 2024-25, 154 students participated in ten group programs, accounting for 2,580 class visits.Summer CampsWe offered five week-long day camps for 90 students in grades K-12. Each camp was project-based and concluded with a performance or showcase. Collaborations with Grand Teton Music Festival, Art Association of Jackson Hole, Off Square Theatre, and Dancers' Workshop exposed students to multiple disciplines, from Junkestra instrument - making to chamber performances alongside professionals.Community Partnerships and Creative AgingPartnerships extended our reach in schools, health, and senior-living settings. A board-certified music therapist and teaching artists delivered 728 sessions for 72 unique participants across music therapy and creative aging programs with Teton County School District, Community Entry Services, Sage Living and our Uke55 and Jam55 groups.Events and PerformancesPublic performance is core to our mission of learning and sharing music:1. Teen Takeover, co-presented with The Center for the Arts and JHHS Arts, offered a youth-led evening of live music and art. 2. Taylor Swift Tribute, a sold-out intergenerational concert, featured students and faculty together on stage.3. Mardi Gras Second Line brought a joyful parade to St. John's Health with our music therapy partners.4. TMS Fest is our annual student showcase, a two-day celebration of performances by learners of all ages.5. Jam55, graduates of Uke55, represented TMS at community events. Scholarships and AccessThrough partnerships with One22 and other local service organizations, and through TMS-funded aid, we provided need-based tuition support so that financial barriers do not block participation. TMS also supports families who do not qualify for partner programs or who have aged out of their support, ensuring continuity of study.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 74.3%; rating input score 74
• Program expense ratio: 83.3%; rating input score 83
• Fundraising efficiency: $6.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • 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: 11.2%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 16.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 27.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 34% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings