Young Musicians Choral Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462632518
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5108459626
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$617,200
Expenses
$897,882
Assets
$1,282,646
Liabilities
$1,755

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GEECHI TAYLOR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DR JOHN COOKE (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • GEECHI TAYLOR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $92,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Young musicians choral orchestra uses musical training, academic support, and personal guidance to improve the lives of talented, low-income young people, ages 9-18, from throughout the bay area. By advancing their academic, musical, and personal accomplishments throughout their middle school and high school years, ymco enhances students' competitive appeal and success at four year universities and conservatories.

What it reported doing in 2024

Artistic - provide comprehensive music training for students ages 9-18 from four counties in the bay area. Each student both sings in the chorus and plays in the orchestra. Students are trained in the genres of jazz, classical and rhythm and blues. Students receive: weekly private lessons on 1-3 instruments, including voice lessons; weekly rehearsal for the chorus, the orchestra and the jazz big band. Students perform regularly at recitals, special concerts and outreach performances, throughout the community. The 6-week long summer institute prvides intensive, conservatory-like music training. Monday through friday, culminating in a final concert, which is free and open to the public.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 62
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.2%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 47.5%; rating input score 48
  • Fundraising efficiency: $249.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -45.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.43; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.6% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.2% of revenue deployed · 47.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $427K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $92K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.