Whin Music Community Charter School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 812997297
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 8444890817
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $12,874,497
- Expenses
- $14,341,906
- Assets
- $77,821,001
- Liabilities
- $77,423,264
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHARLES ORTIZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- CHARLES ORTIZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $269,225 total reported compensation
- MICHAEL DREXLER (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $161,867 total reported compensation
- DAVID TOME (ATHLETIC DIRECTOR): $150,532 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 Washington heights and inwood music community charter school ("whin music charter school or "whin") will provide our diverse student population with a rigorous academic instruction, intensive music education, and a positive learning environment so that every student can thrive academically and personally.
What it reported doing in 2024
'the Washington heights and inwood music community charter school (whin) was founded to offer students from Washington heights and inwood a rigorous academic education and intensive daily musical instruction inspired by the internationally-renowned el sistema movement. Serving 486 students in grades k-8 when fully enrolled, whin's vision is to create a positive learning environment that ensures all students are meeting or exceeding learning standards through a rigorous common core-aligned and music-infused curriculum enriched by intensive daily music instruction and community engagement. Our work will be continually guided by the values and practices of el sistema, striving to imbue students with a love of music and learning and inspiring our entire school community to become agents of change in the world through the pursuit of academic and musical excellence. Our program utilizes a project- and inquiry-based instructional model differentiated for each learner's unique needs and facilitates the development of our school community through music and social inclusion. These are proven strategies that provide students with executive function and self-regulation skills (based on three types of brain function: working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control), which have been identified as essential for improving academic achievement, developing positive behaviors, and building community.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 74% 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.
- 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89.4%; rating input score 89
- Program expense ratio: 80.2%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $44.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -11.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.43; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.99; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 25.5% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 23.3% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 57.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 89.4% of revenue deployed · 80.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $269K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $977K reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.