Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1999.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
77 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
17 people listed on the 990; $171K paid to officers and key staff.
Michelle Quiala’s $67K as Executive Director is at the 10th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $1–10M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joeseph Heitz | — | $104,419 | — | — | — |
| Joseph Heitz | — | — | $102,063 | $100,219 | $79,087 |
| Michelle Quiala | $66,875 | — | — | — | — |
| Alex Nishibun | $59,173 | $55,017 | $52,440 | — | — |
| Paul Scholtz | — | — | — | $54,904 | $47,309 |
| Jeremy Wong | $53,629 | $50,517 | — | — | — |
| Alberto De La Paz | — | — | — | $52,482 | $44,711 |
| Jeremey Wong | — | — | $49,316 | — | — |
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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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Mentors young singers and educators, ensuring ensemble singing's future through engaging musical experiences.
Questions for Cantus
Your first name shows with your question. Cantus answers here, for everyone.
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Concerts
Cantus pivoted to online concerts when the pandemic halted in-person performances, and the ensemble ultimately performed six all-new online programs in the 2020-21 season when such vocal performances were relatively rare.
Media Initiatives
Cantus reached 3 million listeners via public broadcasting, including performances broadcast on minnesota public radio and distributed by american public media. Additionally, the ensemble's popular "COVID-19 sessions" a series of 19 songs recorded in march 2020 immediately preceding minnesota's stay-at-home directive drew the interest of…
Educational Residencies
Commitments to deepening the music-education experience in the lives of young people and fostering a future for ensemble singing are integral to cantus' mission. While the pandemic temporarily halted the ensemble's award-winning high school residency program, cantus led online master classes with high school and college students from…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $451K | $766K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $655 | $3K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $585K | $823K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $382K | $358K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $203K | $465K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $210K | $117K | $53K | $41K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $269K | $239K | $22K | $8K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $11K | $10K | $741 | $180 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $38K | $28K | $6K | $4K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $26 | $26 | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $9K | $9K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $36K | $36K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $33K | $25K | $5K | $3K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $12K | $9K | $2K | $1K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $8K | $6K | $1K | $836 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $25K | $19K | $4K | $2K |
| TravelLn 17 | $21K | $20K | $500 | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $460 | $368 | $51 | $41 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $21K | $15K | $3K | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $69K | $58K | $7K | $4K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $928 | $928 | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $763K | $584K | $112K | $66K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.5M | $1.5M | $1K | $819K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.3M | $1.3M | −$70K | $818K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.3M | $1.3M | $38K | $888K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.6M | $1.2M | $385K | $850K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $1.0M | $763K | $261K | $465K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,024,216 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 14 of 16 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,024,216 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $763,084 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $823,080 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $464,618 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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