The Institute of Music for Children Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 020687805
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Elizabeth, NJ, USA
- Phone
- 9083525827
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,975,015
- Expenses
- $1,922,425
- Assets
- $12,428,624
- Liabilities
- $3,687,833
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BETTY PREZZY BRYANT (PRESIDENT/TR)
Highest reported compensation
- ALYSIA SOUDER (EXECUTIVE DI): $126,741 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To engage children and youth in artistic expression and the creative process.
What it reported doing in 2024
The institute of music for children, a community-centered, arts-based youth development organization, engages children and youth in artistic expression and the creative process. Guided by its vision of h.a.r.m.o.n.y. - helping achieve responsible, motivated, optimistic, neighborhood youth - the institute is building a community of high-achieving citizens who are arts lovers and arts makers through professional instruction, mentorship, and family engagement. Over 1,500 youth annually are provided with economically accessible, high- quality arts training in an inspiring and nurturing environment. Guided by the belief that all children deserve access to the benefits of the arts, no student is ever turned away based on financial need. Core programs arts education services offered: we provide more than 40 art forms in a wide range of performing, visual and media arts, along with additional programming that includes culinary, karate, yoga and more. Our core programs include: - the afterschool arts institute: offers 12- or 24-weeks of private and group instruction from october-may for over 375 students ages 5-18. This program features our signature, teen arts night. - the summer arts institute: immerses 250 young people in at least eight art forms each day. The program runs for six weeks. - the community institute: develops collaborative artist residencies for schools, juvenile detention centers, behavioral health settings, and other community spaces. - youth leader job training and readiness program: employs 45-50 teens to receive on-the-job training throughout all institute functions. They act as mentors, work events, provide tours, manage our social media and provide support in nearly every institute function. Key accomplishments 1.grown to serve more than 1,500 children each year utilizing more than 40 art forms and offering professional instruction by established working artists from around the world. 2.established bi-lingual staff of administrators, faculty and youth leaders. 3.raised more than 7 million for our upcoming campus expansion project, scheduled to break ground in 2026. 4.received five citations of excellence from the New Jersey state council on the arts. 5.accessed prestigious national funding from the us department of housing and urban development, the us department of education, the national endowment for the arts, the nonprofit finance fund, New York life and the lewis prize for music (semi-finalist). 6.joined the consortium of community-based providers to bring arts residencies to juvenile detention centers across the state. 7.awarded an impact 100 - garden state grant to expand our programming for youth with intellectual or developmental disabilities, as well as those with severe trauma. 8.presented our equity work at statewide conferences and convenings in the arts and youth development.
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 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 58
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 79
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 41.1%; rating input score 41
- Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $39.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 51.6%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.47; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 27.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 41.1% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 41/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.