The Choir School of Delaware Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE CHOIR SCHOOL OF DELAWARE (CSD) PROVIDES A TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR YOUTH AGES 7-17 IN THE GREATER WILMINGTON AREA, THE MAJORITY OF WHOM ARE CONSIDERED AT-RISK. THE CHOIR SCHOOL OFFERS A YEAR-ROUND EDUCATION PROGRAM THAT HAS A STRONG LEGACY OF SERVING AND ENGAGING WILMINGTON'S YOUTH AND FAMILIES THROUGH MUSIC AND MENTORING. STUDENTS RECEIVE FULL MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM. OUR STUDENTS CONTINUE TO ACHIEVE A 100% GRADUATION RATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND GO ON TO COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, TRADES SCHOOLS AND MILITARY SERVICE. OUR INTERGENERATIONAL MODEL CREATES AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE NO CHILD IS FAR FROM AN ADULT WHO MODELS GOOD BEHAVIOR, OFFERS ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUPPORTS THE CHILD'S ACADEMIC NEEDS. CSD CONTINUES TO REACH OUT TO URBAN YOUTH AND PROVIDE A SAFE, PRODUCTIVE AND CREATIVE SPACE; MUSIC AND MENTORING WORK HAND-IN-HAND SO THAT "HARMONIZING LIFE AND LEARNING" IS AT THE CORE OF THE CHOIR SCHOOL'S MISSION.
- Income
- $655,438
- Spending
- $684,218
- Spent on programs
- 77%
- Reserves
- -1.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 60%
- Employees
- 21
- Volunteers
- 35
- Highest pay
- $35,206, executive director (eff 8/24)
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 25 out of 100. Higher than 3% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
2 of 20It owes 75% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 4% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 27% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1577% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 78% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 11 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $526,848 spent. IN FISCAL YEAR 2025 (FY25), THE CHOIR SCHOOL OF DELAWARE (CSD) SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTED A MASTERCLASS IN NONPROFIT RESILIENCE, ESTABLISHING OPERATIONAL, PROGRAMMATIC, AND FINANCIAL STABILITY AS ITS PRIMARY ACHIEVEMENTS. FACED WITH A CRITICAL "FUNDING CLIFF" DUE TO THE SUNSETTING OF APPROXIMATELY $400,000 IN LEGACY GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS, CSD STRUCTURALLY RE-ENGINEERED ITS FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE. THE ORGANIZATION MANAGED A REMARKABLY STRONG, BALANCED FINANCIAL YEAR BY INTENTIONALLY DIVERSIFYING ITS REVENUE STREAMS INTO A HIGHLY STABLE, RESILIENT MODEL WHERE GOVERNMENT FUNDING, FOUNDATION GRANTS, AND INDIVIDUAL GIVING EACH COMPRISED ROUGHLY ONE-THIRD (1/3) OF TOTAL REVENUE.BY TIGHTENING INTERNAL BUDGETS AND SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDING PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY THROUGH CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS AND MAJOR DONORS, CSD NEUTRALIZED THE FUNDING LOSSMISSING ITS TOTAL BUDGET TARGETS BY ONLY A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS FINANCIAL STABILITY ALLOWED CSD TO RETAIN 100% OF ITS STAFF, PRESERVING THE LONG-TERM, TRUSTED MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS VITAL TO OUR SCHOLARS WHILE DELIVERING UNINTERRUPTED, TUITION-FREE PROGRAMMING TO WILMINGTON'S YOUTH.FLAGSHIP AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM: DATA-DRIVEN STUDENT SUCCESSOPERATING MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR, CSD'S FLAGSHIP AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCES TO AT-RISK URBAN YOUTH, INCLUDING SPECIALIZED TRANSPORTATION VIA CSD VANS, NUTRITIOUS MEALS, PROFESSIONAL VOICE AND PIANO LESSONS, AND INTERGENERATIONAL CHORAL REHEARSALS. IN FY25, CSD ANCHORED ITS COMMITMENT TO ACADEMIC STABILITY BY SHIFTING TO A HIGHLY DISCIPLINED, DATA-DRIVEN INTERVENTION MODEL DESIGNED TO AGGRESSIVELY CLOSE SYSTEMIC PROFICIENCY GAPS: IXL LEARNING INTEGRATION: CSD INTEGRATED THE IXL LEARNING DIGITAL PLATFORM TO CONDUCT REAL-TIME LEARNING GAP ASSESSMENTS. THIS ALLOWED EDUCATORS AND TUTORS TO DEPLOY SURGICAL, INDIVIDUALIZED ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS IN MATHEMATICS AND LANGUAGE ARTS. PERSONALIZED GOALS CHARTS: TO FOSTER ACCOUNTABILITY AND SELF-EFFICACY, STUDENTS TRACKED THEIR OWN DAILY ACADEMIC, BEHAVIORAL, AND MUSICAL PROGRESSION VIA VISUAL GOALS CHARTS, CONVERTING ABSTRACT LEARNING BENCHMARKS INTO EXPLICIT, STUDENT-OWNED MILESTONES. THE CSD STORE (THE MERIT ECONOMY): TO INCENTIVIZE POSITIVE HABITS, ACADEMIC GROWTH, AND PERFORMANCE MILESTONES ACHIEVED ON IXL AND GOALS CHARTS, CSD OPERATED AN INTERNAL "CSD STORE." STUDENTS EARNED MERIT-BASED CURRENCY TO SPEND AT THE STORE, TEACHING FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL LITERACY, WORK ETHIC, AND DELAYED GRATIFICATION.SUMMER INTENSIVE: INSPIRING INNOVATION & AGENCYCSD'S FY25 TUITION-FREE SUMMER PROGRAMMING SERVED AS A VITAL INCUBATOR FOR STUDENT AGENCY AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION, PILOTING SPECIALIZED ACADEMIC AND ARTS TRACKS THAT SUCCESSFULLY SPURRED AND LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR OUR CURRENT "STEP UP" SUMMER MODEL. SERVING STUDENTS AGES 1018, THIS INTENSIVE FOCUSED ON EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND WORKFORCE READINESS: APPLIED ACADEMICS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP: STUDENTS ENGAGED IN A PRACTICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSE TO BUILD FOUNDATIONAL BUSINESS LITERACY. MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION WAS REIMAGINED THROUGH INTERACTIVE, HIGH-ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIESSUCH AS UTILIZING YAHTZEE TO MASTER REAL-WORLD PROBABILITY CONCEPTSWHILE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA) DEVELOPMENT WAS DRIVEN THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE DIGITAL PODCASTING CURRICULUM. STUDENT-LED CREATIVE PRODUCTION: FLIPPING THE TRADITIONAL CAMP STRUCTURE, THE ARTISTIC CAPSTONE WAS AN ENTIRELY STUDENT-CREATED, STUDENT-LED VARIETY SHOW. CHORISTERS DEMONSTRATED LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVE OWNERSHIP BY DRAFTING AN ORIGINAL THEATRICAL SCRIPT TO SEAMLESSLY WEAVE TOGETHER VARIOUS MUSICAL THEATRE NUMBERS, MANAGING BOTH THE NARRATIVE CONCEPT AND EXECUTION.CHORAL INNOVATION, INTERGENERATIONAL REPERTOIRE & COMMUNITY REACHTHE CHOIR SCHOOL MAINTAINED ITS STANDARD OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE, SERVING AS A VITAL INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNITY HUB WHERE STUDENT CHORISTERS PERFORM ALONGSIDE PROFESSIONAL ADULT SINGERS AND MUSICAL MENTORS. DIVERSE CONCERT SEASON: CSD EXECUTED ITS FORMAL CONCERT SEASONANCHORED BY STAPLE ENGAGEMENTS INCLUDING SOUNDS OF THE SEASON, BLACK HISTORY MONTH, AND LIFE IS A CABARETREACHING DIVERSE AUDIENCE CROSS-SECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE REGION. SIGNATURE CULTURAL ENGAGEMENTS: BUILDING ON SUCCESSFUL INSTITUTIONAL EXPANSION, CSD CONTINUED ITS HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER, CROSS-COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE EVENTS. THIS INCLUDED THE ANNUAL CHICANA COLLABORATIVEHIGHLIGHTING MEXICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE, MUSIC, AND DANCE THROUGH SOLD-OUT PUBLIC FORUMSAND THE ANNUAL A CAPPELLA FEST, WHICH SERVES AS A FULL-DAY LEARNING INTENSIVE AND EVENING SHOWCASE FOR SCHOOL-AGE, COLLEGIATE, AND INDEPENDENT ENSEMBLES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending July 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 2007.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
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