Worcester County Mechanics Association Dba Mechanics Hall

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
041988955
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Worcester, MA, USA
Phone
5087525608
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,714,754
Expenses
$2,871,732
Assets
$10,819,122
Liabilities
$226,534

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PETER THOMAS (PRESIDENT)
  • ELLEN CONTE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • BRUCE ELLIS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JAMIE LEEHY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JENNIFER ANTKOWIAK (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • VICTORIA MARIANO (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHLEEN GAGNE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $132,469 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 cultural, social, and economic vitality of the community by stewarding mechanics hall, a historic landmark and world-class performance hall, which serves as an inspirational gathering place for programs and events that showcase the vast diversity of human experience.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community, organ, and educational programming: mechanics hall produces a series of free community concerts and several special concerts and educational events each year. This year featured brown bag concerts, organ concerts, and children's programs as well as the third year of our two new programs: club 321 and the mechanics hall youth singers. Club 321 is a new series hosted in our more intimate washburn hall and brings affordable, sophisticated, live music entertainment to the heart of downtown. Youth singers is the anchor youth program at mechanics hall, a recognition that worcester's children are the heart and soul of our richly multicultural city. Open to 4th through 7th graders from every worcester neighborhood, this non-auditioned chorus gives children from all backgrounds the opportunity to practice and perform at mechanics hall their own "home" concert hall. Under professional direction, they learn to sing a variety of music, build friendships, and work toward excellence together and in harmony. There is no cost to participate in the chorus.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 64% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 69.4%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th 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: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.8%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.77; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.7% of revenue deployed · 69.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 29 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.