The Intermountain Suzuki String Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 870647618
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Holladay, UT, USA
- Phone
- 8016992217
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Music
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $520,482
- Expenses
- $525,755
- Assets
- $31,303
- Liabilities
- $280
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- LAUREN POSEY (EXECUTIVE DI): $30,000 total reported compensation
- TABITHA RICKS (REGISTRAR/GR): $14,375 total reported compensation
- SUNNY JOHNSON (WEBMASTER/SC): $6,875 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The intermountain suzuki string institute offers a week-long music camp for violin, viola, cello, bass, trumpet, and guitar-serving over 500 students and 100 teachers annually. We aspire to provide the best music education possible for all teachers and children involved in the suzuki method and beyond. The ultimate goal is the highest development of individual abilities and the enrichment of the human spirit.
What it reported doing in 2024
- student registration numbers increased for the young artist program - successfully ran 21 teacher training courses - increased enrollment for viola, trumpet, and guitar - 181 first time attendees - over 65 applications for the student honors recitals - 76 scholarship applications, record number - implemented new enrichment class editor with approximately 400 changes made using the application - increased fundraising efforts with grants, gala fundraiser, silent auction, general donations, and scholarship table donations - over 550 total students enrolled
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 83% 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
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 63
- Sustainability: 29
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- 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: 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.06; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.4%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -40.6% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $526K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $30K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.