Experimental Sound Studio EIN 36-3482714 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Experimental Sound Studio FY2024 filing

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Promotes sound art and its cultural expressions through artist-led initiatives. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $748K in revenue, $838K in expenses, and $890K in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Arts & Culture
Location
Chicago, IL
Website
ess.org
Filings
6 on file (2020–2024)
Revenue
$748KFY2024
Expenses
$838K
Net assets
$890K
People
10
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  36-3482714 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Chicago, IL
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Promotes sound art and its cultural expressions through artist-led initiatives.
Leadership
Adam Vida · Managing Dir. · $60K
Money in and out
$748K revenue, $838K expenses
Bottom line
94% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$748K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$838K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$890K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$90K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.94 Management & general $0.05 Fundraising $0.01
Program efficiency
94%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
2.9mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-12%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$748K
FY2024▼ -32%
Expenses
$838K
FY2024▲ +26%
Total assets
$899K
FY2024▼ -10%
Total liabilities
$9K
FY2024▼ -45%
Total revenue
$748K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$838K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$890K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$90K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$899K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B94%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 39
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 49

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CExperimental Sound Studio
EINHdr · item D36-3482714
Principal addressHdr · item CChicago, IL
WebsiteHdr · item Jess.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MIL
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A6FZ)
Ruling yearIRS BMFFeb 1987

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a9
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b9
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aNo
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Managing Dir.
$59,849Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Adam Vida’s $50K as Managing Dir. is at the 44th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2216 $100K–1M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Adam Vida$50,015$59,849$54,470$47,590$39,650$28,900

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $784K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Ess presents eclectic performance and installation programming, around the studio and at various partner venues around chicago.

$784Kprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$564K · 75%
Program service revenue$184K · 25%
Contributions & grants75%$564K
Program service revenue25%$184K
Investment income$11
— government grantsLn 1e$104K
Total revenueLn 12$748K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.94 Management & general $0.05 Fundraising $0.01
Program services94%$784K
Management & general5%$45K
Fundraising1%$10K
Total functional expensesLn 25$838K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$206K
Total assetsLn 16$899K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$9K
Total net assetsLn 32$890K
Months of cash on handcomputed2.9

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $206K · Operating expenses/yr $838K
2.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $784K · Total expenses $838K
94%
Management & General
Management & general $45K · Total expenses $838K
5%
Fundraising
Fundraising $10K · Total expenses $838K
1%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $10K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $483K
$0.02 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $564K · Total revenue $748K
75%
Government reliance
Government grants $104K · Total revenue $748K
14%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $184K · Total revenue $748K
25%
Investment reliance
Investment income $11 · Total revenue $748K
<0.01%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $184K · Total expenses $838K
22%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $748K · Prior year $1.1M
-32%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $474K · FY2024 $748K
+12%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $890K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $748K · Expenses $838K
-12%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $899K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $890K · Total assets $899K
99%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $899K
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Adam Vida · Reported title Managing Dir. · Highest reported compensation $60K · Total expenses $838K
7%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $191K · Total expenses $838K
23%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 94%
Overhead ratio 5%
Fundraising cost ratio 2%
Revenue growth -32%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$2K

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$907K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$748K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$1.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$375K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$627K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$474K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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