Vandercook College of Music
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 362539399
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3122256288
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,652,225
- Expenses
- $6,307,678
- Assets
- $8,999,993
- Liabilities
- $2,253,822
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
25 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KIM FARRIS (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- KIM FARRIS (PRESIDENT): $126,192 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 enrich the lives of present and future generations through the preparation of teachers in instrumental, choral, and general music disciplines. The curriculum prepares teachers with strong character, teaching skill, and respect for the importance of music.
What it reported doing in 2024
To promote passionate, life-long teaching, learning, and playing of music. Vandercook graduates share their talents with children of all ages in chicago and throughout the world.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 64% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.8%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 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: -11.6%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.43; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83.8% of revenue deployed · 74.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 25 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $213K reported
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.