Tucson Desert Song Festival

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
273777745
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone
8885463305
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$367,443
Expenses
$271,418
Assets
$905,167
Liabilities
$762

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEANNETTE SEGEL (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • ERIC AHLSTROM (DIRECTOR)
  • KAREN BAHNICK (DIRECTOR)
  • MARLYS BEIDER (DIRECTOR)

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

To bring exceptional performances from world class vocal artists to tucson through an annual song festival and offer educational opportunities.

What it reported doing in 2024

From july 1, 2024 to june 30, 2025 the organization coordinated, subsidized and publicized the presentations that make up our annual song festival. During our festival season the Arizona opera, ballet tucson, tucson symphony orchestra true concord, tucson guitar society, Arizona early music society, the university of Arizona/Arizona arts live, Arizona theater company and the tucson jazz festival/jazz in january presented programs subsidized by our grants. We also were able to subsidize Arizona friends of chamber music in their presentation of the world premiere of a composition written by john coriglione, performed by joshua bell on violin, adam nielsen on piano and sung by larisa martinez.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 63% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.7%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $167.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 93.1%; rating input score 93; 54th 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 26.1%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.33; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.7% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $233K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 27 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 9 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.