The Jersey Surf a New Jersey Non-profit Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521819863
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
West Berlin, NJ, USA
Phone
6092800223
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$271,221
Expenses
$387,624
Assets
$361,064
Liabilities
$545,678

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

People named in this filing

  • CHRISTIANA VILARDO (BOARD MEMBER)
  • ROBERT JACOBS (BOARD MEMBER)
  • DONALD WHITWORTH (BOARD MEMBER)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Jersey Surf, Inc. (the Organization) is a nonprofit corporation located in West Berlin, New Jersey. Founded in 1991, its mission is to to provide educational opportunities in the performing arts for young people, fostering artistic and social development through music and related programming.

What it reported doing in 2024

FORM 990 - ORGANIZATIONS MISSION In November 2024, Jersey Surf, Inc. formally transitioned from operating a full-time touring drum and bugle corps to embracing a broader, more accessible service model focused on year-round community engagement, music education, and wellness programming.

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 total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 50
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.4%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 44.3%; rating input score 44
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 25th 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: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -42.9%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.93; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.51; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.4% of revenue deployed · 44.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $172K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: Program expense ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.