Sphere Ensemble LLC
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Engage diverse communities with string ensemble music through the performance of our innovative arrangements, education, and outreach.
- Income
- $182,510
- Spending
- $140,349
- Reserves
- 7.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 85%
- Highest pay
- $17,241, executive director
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 73% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 7.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 23% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending June 30, 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)
- $66,568 spent. We gave a total of nine public performances of four different concert programs over the season. Each concert program was crafted around a central theme. "Bridges" (September 21 and 22, 2024), made musical connections between composers, pieces, and styles across musical time periods and genres. "Snowflakes & Sleigh Bells" (December 13 and 14, 2024), featured a festive program of favorite and lesser-known Christmas, Hanukkah, and winter seasonal music. "Music for Motion" (April 12, 13, and 14, 2025), featured a world premiere of a new work written for us entitled "Music for Motion" by Colorado composer Carter Pann, and other works around the theme of motion. "Women's Work, Vol. 2" (May 31 and June 1, 2025), featured all works composed by women, including a young, local composer. One performance from each concert cycle was also available to remote audiences via a livestream. Over the course of the season, we had 1136 in-person audience members, 429 views of our livestream concerts, and 6,577 views of all our videos on our youtube channel. Our concert programs included 13 works by women composers, 11 works by BIPOC composers, 17 popular music songs, 4 living classical composers, and also one World Premiere.
- $21,792 spent. Community outreach and educational programming: We gave eight free outreach events with four different partner organizations, reaching a total of 356 participants. Partners included two performances (12/11/24 and 5/30/25) for unhoused individuals recovering from serious medical conditions at the Stout Street Recuperative Care Center, one performance for music students at Colorado State University for a side-by-side workshop on chamber music and extended string playing techniques and a side-by-side performance opportunity (4/14/25), a side-by-side rehearsal and concert with the high school string students of the Spectrum Ensemble (5/29/25 and 6/1/25). Our most robust partnership was with the incarcerated youth at Gilliam Youth Services Center. Our whole group performed concerts on three separate dates (9/21/24, 12/15/24, and 4/13/25), plus a team of three Sphere Ensemble musician/arranger/teachers partnered with a teacher from another organization (Colorado Music Bridge) to help the students develop some of their own original songs, teaching 36 hours over the course of appearances on 10 dates spread over 6 months. Sphere Ensemble performed one of the students' compositions live in our public concerts in April 2025. This same team of Sphere musician/teachers in partnership with the teacher from Colorado Music Bridge also created polished renditions of three other compositions written by students at Gilliam Youth Services Center.
- $7,050 spent. Our arrangers created 27 cutting-edge new string versions of pieces from classical, folk, world, and popular music idioms that were uniquely crafted for our group and for our exclusive use. Additionally, our arrangers also wrote four unique medleys of pop songs comprised of excerpts from 45 different songs and lasting over 38 minutes in total.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending June 30, 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 October 13, 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 June 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 February 2013.
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 October 21, 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.