Church Music Institute
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Church Music Institute (CMI) is dedicated to the advancement and stewardship of the best of sacred music for the use of worshipping Christian congregations training new generations of clergy, musicians, and laypersons for leading worship through workshops, courses, and conferences across the country supported by a virtual online reference library. CMI also archives choral and organ music and books and resources on liturgy and church music.
- Income
- $520,678
- Spending
- $190,878
- Spent on programs
- 76%
- Reserves
- Over 10 years of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 80%
- Employees
- 9
- Volunteers
- 33
- Highest pay
- $35,000, director & executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (religion, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover more than ten years of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 63% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 3% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1576% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 71 out of 100. Higher than 66% of charities in its peer group (religion, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 2512 of 13 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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 December 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 (3)
- $75,073 spent. Sacred Music Library - The reference library and virtual, online searchable database for study and evaluation at year end held 60,899 works (32,305 choral - 28,594 organ) from collections of prominent musicians, choral directors, and churches, as well as recently published compositions. Acquisitions in 2025 were from a church and 6 personal libraries. The CMI website is included in the "Performing Arts Web Archive" of the U.S. Library of Congress. There were 44,000 website visitors in 2025, and the mailing list now exceeds 9,100 addresses. A Rodgers hybrid organ model 205 is available for teaching and demonstration purposes.
- $60,480 spent. Programs - CMI's programs and sacred music libraries have participation from every state in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. Over 7 months of the year, there were 453 participants in 8 virtual and 2 in-person programs presented by 19 recognized individuals in the fields of Christian worship and music (152 first-time attendees). In furtherance of hymn festivals, a CMI friend has contributed more than $77,000 over the last three years.
- $9,521 spent. Hymn Festivals - From time-to-time CMI sponsors festivals and participates in other organization's conferences which, in 2025, included 7 Connecticut churches participating in a hymn festival (250 attending), presenting at the Portland, Oregon National Association of Pastoral Musicians convention (45 attending), and information booths at the Texas conventions of the American Choral Directors Association in Dallas (85 visitors) and the American Guild of Organists in Fort Worth (40 visitors).
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 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 October 13, 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 November 6, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since January 2009.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.