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El Sistema USA at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

El Sistema USA

EL SISTEMA USA works to ensure every child has access to high-quality music education that celebrates their voice and potential, by supporting a national network of organizations & educators.

$165k
Granted FY2020
13
Grants FY2020
11
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2020.

Arts & Culture$518kEducation$135kYouth Development$90k
02FY2020 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$10,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$475k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY$20,000
WHIN MUSIC COMMUNITY SCHOOL$20,000
NORTHEAST COMMUNITY CENTER$15,000
TRENTON MUSIC MAKERS$15,000
EMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA$15,000
PROJECT MUSIC$10,000
HARMONY PROJECT TULSA$10,000
ACCENT PONTIAC$10,000
COMMUSICATION$10,000
SALTY CRICKET COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE$10,000
MAKE MUSIC NOLA$10,000
RIVERSIDE ARTS ACADEMY$10,000
BUFFALO STRING WORKS$10,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 74% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%COMMUSICATION: $20k → 14%RIVERSIDE ARTS ACADEMY: $20k → 11%EMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA: $30k → 12%BUFFALO STRING WORKS: $20k → 13%WHIN MUSIC COMMUNITY SCHOOL: $40k → 17%HARMONY PROJECT TULSA: $20k → 15%NORTHEAST COMMUNITY CENTER: $30k → 15%PROJECT MUSIC: $20k → 9%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY: $40k → 10%SALTY CRICKET COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE: $20k → 8%TRENTON MUSIC MAKERS: $30k → 11%MAKE MUSIC NOLA: $20k → 23%COMMUSICATION: $15k → 14%RIVERSIDE ARTS ACADEMY: $15k → 11%EMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA: $23k → 12%BUFFALO STRING WORKS: $15k → 13%WHIN MUSIC COMMUNITY SCHOOL: $30k → 17%HARMONY PROJECT TULSA: $15k → 15%NORTHEAST COMMUNITY CENTER: $23k → 15%PROJECT MUSIC: $15k → 9%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY: $30k → 10%SALTY CRICKET COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE: $15k → 8%TRENTON MUSIC MAKERS: $23k → 11%MAKE MUSIC NOLA: $15k → 23%COMMUSICATION: $10k → 14%RIVERSIDE ARTS ACADEMY: $10k → 11%EMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA: $15k → 12%BUFFALO STRING WORKS: $10k → 13%WHIN MUSIC COMMUNITY SCHOOL: $20k → 17%HARMONY PROJECT TULSA: $10k → 15%NORTHEAST COMMUNITY CENTER: $15k → 15%PROJECT MUSIC: $10k → 9%CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY: $20k → 10%SALTY CRICKET COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE: $10k → 8%TRENTON MUSIC MAKERS: $15k → 11%MAKE MUSIC NOLA: $10k → 23%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
MI
NY
NJ
CT
CA
UT
MO
NC
OK
LA
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

100%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$743k · 13 repeat orgs$0 to everyone else

13 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2020, 0 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
0

Total granted

$743k
$0

Still filing today

85%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’18’19’20
Arts & CultureEducationYouth DevelopmentOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • CS
    CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC
    3× · 2018–2020 · $90k · revenue +147%
  • Capital Harmony Works Inc
    3× · 2018–2020 · $68k · revenue +62%
  • ES
    EMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA INC
    3× · 2018–2020 · $68k · revenue +19%

Funded once

    How this is measured

    Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

    04Its field

    Closest unfunded matches

    The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

    1
    Intonation Music Workshop

    Intonation kids explore their limitless potential by learning to play instruments and forming their own rock bands. Our year-round classes make music accessible to children in low-income neighborhoods by providing them with instruments,…

    Arts & Culture
    2
    Hermosa Beach Youth Music

    To initiate and develop musci education programs for Hermosa Beach youth.

    —
    3
    Bridges Through Music
    Education
    4
    Pacific Northwest Music Project
    Arts & Culture
    5
    Cadence Music & Arts Programs
    Arts & Culture
    6
    Musical Instruments N Kids Hands

    Music can transform lives especially for kids growing up in difficult circumstances. Music Instruments N Kids Hands mission is to introduce students to science technology engineering arts and math STEAM through an interactive and digital…

    Arts & Culture
    7
    Cascade Youth Symphony

    Year-long program designed to nurture students enjoyment of music as well as develop their musical skills and self-confidence.

    —
    8
    Ansonia Music Outreach Organization Inc

    Our mission is to establish the musical arts as a more essential and valuable experience in the lives of the general public. Our Access to Music program brings classical music to a new broad audience through free concerts events and…

    Arts & Culture
    9
    Newport String Project

    The newport string project is a chamber music performance and youth mentoring initiative committed to making inspiring musical experiences accessible for all in newport, ri. string instrument lessons are provided free of charge to students…

    Arts & Culture
    10
    Project Step Inc

    Project STEP, Inc., (Project STEP) was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in 1983 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Project STEP uses classical music training to bring positive change to the lives of students,…

    Arts & Culture
    11
    Armstrong Community Music School

    Armstrong community music school offers exciting opportunities to learn the joys of music for students of all ages and skill levels, from early childhood to adult.

    —
    12
    Southeastern Connecticut Community Orchestra Inc
    Arts & Culture
    How this is measured
    The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Buffalo String Works Inc; the most unlike its peers is Riverside Arts Academy. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
    04the grantee network

    12 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

    Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

    How this is measured

    Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 12 of the 13 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

    Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

    1
    Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
    6
    Early backer (in before they grew)
    11/12
    Grantees still filing
    10/12
    Grew since first funded

    Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

    CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $90,000 · Arts & CultureCHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INCCapital Harmony Works Inc: $67,500 · Arts & CultureCapital Harmony Works IncEMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA INC: $67,500 · Arts & CultureEMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA INCMAKE MUSIC NOLA: $45,000 · Arts & CultureMAKE MUSIC NOLARiverside Arts Academy: $45,000 · Arts & CultureRiverside Arts AcademyCOMMUSICATION: $45,000 · Arts & CultureCOMMUSICATIONBUFFALO STRING WORKS INC: $45,000 · Arts & CultureBUFFALO STRING WORKS INCWHIN MUSIC COMMUNITY SCHOOL: $90,000 · OtherWHIN MUSIC COMMUNITY SCHOOLNORTHEAST COMMUNITY CENTER: $67,500 · OtherNORTHEAST COMMUNITY CENTERSALTY CRICKET COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE: $45,000 · OtherSALTY CRICKET COMPOSERS COLLEC…PROJECT MUSIC INC: $45,000 · EducationPROJECT MUSIC…ACCENT PONTIAC INC: $45,000 · EducationACCENT PONTIA…Harmony Project Tulsa: $45,000 · Youth Development
    Arts & Culture$405,000Other$202,500Education$90,000Youth Development$45,000

    Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

    25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOCIETY INC: $90,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCapital Harmony Works Inc: $67,500 over 3y, 5.0% of budgetEMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA INC: $67,500 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetNORTHEAST COMMUNITY CENTER: $67,500 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetMAKE MUSIC NOLA: $45,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetPROJECT MUSIC INC: $45,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetRiverside Arts Academy: $45,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetCOMMUSICATION: $45,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetHarmony Project Tulsa: $45,000 over 3y, 32% of budgetSALTY CRICKET COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE: $45,000 over 3y, 14% of budgetBUFFALO STRING WORKS INC: $45,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetACCENT PONTIAC INC: $45,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budget
    Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

    A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

    Co-funders

    Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

    D'Addario Foundation …The Carnegie Hall Cor…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
    D'Addario Foundation IncNY26.1× affinity10 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

    Open a dossier: D'Addario Foundation Inc · The Carnegie Hall Corporation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

    How this is measured
    Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

    How much its grantees rely on government

    Each dot is one organization El Sistema USA funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from El Sistema USA. Bigger dots raise more.

    2025
    ’20’21’22’23’24’25
    no gov · 10%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 19%
    • Project Music Inc: 19% of income from government
    • Capital Harmony Works Inc: 1% of income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 13 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2020, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on El Sistema USA’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home