Young Musicians Unite Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 462610764
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2016
- Location
- Miami, FL, USA
- Phone
- 3058146092
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Music
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,940,938
- Expenses
- $5,691,099
- Assets
- $1,850,407
- Liabilities
- $467,931
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SAMMY GONZALEZ (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- SAMMY GONZALEZ (CEO): $316,667 total reported compensation
- ZACHARY S LARMER (COO): $160,417 total reported compensation
- MELANIE GREENWALD (CFO): $135,433 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 unite believes that every student in miami-dade county deserves access to music education regardless of their socio-economic background. We collaborate with schools to provide free music education which has been proven to inspire personal development, foster a sense of community and prepare our future leaders.
What it reported doing in 2024
Young musicians unite 2024-2025 program overview during the 2024-2025 school year, young musicians unite (ymu) provided high-quality music education programming to 9,062 students in grades 5-12 across 61 schools in miami-dade county. Partner schools included: young men's preparatory academy, jos de diego middle school, booker t. Washington senior high school, coral gables senior high school, miami beach senior high school, northwestern senior high school, miami central senior high school, miami edison senior high school, miami carol city senior high school, nautilus middle school, fienberg-fisher k-8 center, north beach elementary, north glade elementary, lake stevens elementary, beacon college prep, skyway elementary, brentwood elementary, barbara hawkins elementary, miami gardens elementary, earlington heights elementary, olinda elementary, kelsey l. Pharr elementary, citrus grove k-8 center, north county k-8 center, myrtle grove k-8 center, west little river k-8 center, leisure city k-8 center, brownsville middle school, the seed school of miami, south dade middle school, lake stevens middle school, liberty city elementary, southridge senior high school, edison park k-8 center, madison middle school, carol city middle school, south dade senior high school, south dade middle school, homestead senior high school, homestead middle school, redland middle, coconut palm k8, gateway environmental k-8, mandarin lakes k-8, richmond heights middle school, dr. William chapman elementary, Florida city elementary, redland elementary, alonzo mourning senior high, henry filer middle school, norland middle school, norland senior high school, robert renick educational center, hialeah miami lakes senior high school, treasure island elementary, dr. Henry w. Mack/west little river k- 8, madison middle school, horace mann middle, mast academy, morningside k- 8, air base k-8, west homestead k-8, ymu studio. Program reach and offerings with an expanded presence across miami-dade county public schools, ymu engaged students through comprehensive, culturally responsive music education experiences designed to meet students where they are and support their growth over time. Programs included: -jazz band -rock ensembles -music production -modern band -beginning band -orchestral strings -drumline -pitch & rhythm -sound engineering -songwriting and beat making students participated in instrument instruction, ensemble-based learning, public performances, and both in-school and after-school programming, building musical skills alongside confidence, collaboration, and creative expression. Ymu program model: three core pillars ymu delivered programming and instruments at no cost to students, through three integrated pillars: 1. In-school programs ymu's in-school programs are designed to expand access to music education where it would otherwise not exist, embedding instruction directly into the school day. Programs are aligned with school curricula and structured to ensure that students have continuous access to music education from grades 5 through 12, regardless of where they attend school. During the school year, students participated in 87 classes (90 minutes each), meeting 2-3 times per week, providing consistent and sustained engagement. Steam integration: ymu integrates music with science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (steam) through its "5.0" lesson model, developed in partnership with miami-dade county public schools. These lessons: -reinforce academic concepts through hands-on creative application -engage multiple learning styles -occur approximately four times per year for grades 6-8 example: students explore sound waves by designing, building, and testing acoustic amplifiers while collecting and analyzing data. 2. After-school ensembles and media arts ymu's after-school programs provide advanced and career-connected opportunities for students seeking deeper engagement. Housed at partner schools and the ymu studio in allapattah, these pr
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 75% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.4%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $36.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.2%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.8%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 42.9% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 38.2% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 28.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 81.4% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $317K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 8 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.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.