The Midwest Clinic
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 362374225
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Woodridge, IL, USA
- Phone
- 6308616125
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Music Groups, Bands, Ensembles
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,427,173
- Expenses
- $2,396,161
- Assets
- $2,069,438
- Liabilities
- $1,017,048
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KELLY BELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- RODNEY C DORSEY (PRESIDENT)
- JOHN E CLINTON (VICE-PRESIDENT)
- J RICHARD DUNSCOMB THRU 1125 (VICE-PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- KELLY BELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $154,264 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The midwest clinic exists to raise the standards of music education. We serve this mission by: (1) improving the methods employed in music education; (2) developing new teaching techniques; (3) analyzing and appraising literature concerning music education; (4) holding clinics, lectures and demonstrations for the betterment of music education; and (5) generally assisting music teachers in the pursuit of excellence in their profession.
What it reported doing in 2025
The primary vehicle for accomplishing the organization's mission is the premier scholastic music event in north america, the midwest clinic ("the clinic"). The four-day annual event includes dozens of live performances by scholastic groups, military bands and other professional ensembles and lectures by prominent music educators. The clinic attracts over 17,000 music educators and music education students representing all 50 states and over 30 countries. The competition to be chosen to be a clinician or performing group is intense. Making the cut at the clinic is deemed to be a career milestone by most everyone in our industry. The organization has directors who each devote not less 20 hours each year in committees listening to recordings of ensembles, discussing the performances and choosing groups to be invited to the clinic. The competition to perform at the clinic is intense. The organization receives 10-15 submissions for each group invited. The adjudication sessions are conducted in chicago in march of each year. Directors whose groups make the cut are invited to chicago in june to meet the board, tour the venue and receive guidance about the event. Part of the organization's mission is to introduce music educators to an excellent and diverse selection of published music. Selection is based on a variety of criteria with an emphasis on newly published music for concert band, jazz band, and orchestra. Each performing group is required to perform pieces from beginning level to the highest degree of performance level for their age group.the organization prides itself in offering high quality continuing education for music educators. Each year, it presents more than 90 sessions at the clinic at which prominent school directors, college professors, composers and professional musicians share their wisdom on topics relevant to music educators. The topics represent a wide array of solutions faced by music educators from the elementary school level to the university level. Each year the clinic committee of the board reviews and selects the appropriate session topics and presenters.attendees and board members are asked to submit candidates for recognition at the clinic in these categories: music industry award, international award, and medal of honor. These awards are presented during the the clinic to recognize individuals who have made major contributions to instrument music education.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 91% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 87.6%; rating input score 88
- 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: 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: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 1.3%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.86; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.49; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 85% of revenue deployed · 87.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $154K · 23 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2013 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.