Arizona · Nonprofit
PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC (Arizona) receives grants from 25 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,526,343 to it, the largest being Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust ($457,500). 17 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.4M
- Funders on record
- 25
- Grants received
- $1.5M
- Net assets
- $519k
What Phoenix Conservatory of Music does
Mission
The organization is committed to unleashing the power of music by providing high-quality music education and experiences that are affordable and accessible. Its vision is to be a leader in music education with a focus on creative youth development, serving diverse communities across greater phoenix through innovative, culturally responsive, and student-centered programming that prepares young people for lifelong success.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
College preparatory program (cpp):pcm's college preparatory program is a nationally recognized contemporary music education program and a member of the berklee college of music city music network. Students in grades 412 receive intensive, college-style training including private lessons, ensembles, music theory, and career-focused enrichment.in fiscal year 2025, cpp served 121 students with over 1,100 hours of instruction, with 62-75% of students receiving financial assistance, demonstrating pcm's commitment to access and equity. Students engage in 3-10 hours per week of instruction and explore pathways in performance, production, songwriting, and music business, supported by partnerships with berklee college of music, arizona state university, grand canyon university, and industry leaders. Outcomes include 100% high school graduation rates, over 80% college or career placement, and cumulative student scholarship earnings exceeding $5.5m+. Students report 85% improvement in musical skills and 77% increased confidence, reflecting strong academic and social-emotional impact.
$519,499 spentof which $118,199 as grants$49,260 earned by the program46% of program spendingPrivate music lessons:private lessons provide individualized, long-term skill development and mentorship. In fiscal year 2025, pcm served 447 students through private lessons, delivering over 10,000 hours of direct instruction. Approximately 35% of instructional units were supported through financial aid or scholarships.this program represents a critical earned revenue stream while maintaining access through a sliding tuition scale and scholarship support, ensuring that high-quality instruction remains accessible to families of all income levels.
$389,624 spent$435,733 earned by the program35% of program spendingSchool & community-based programs (after school / outreach): pcm delivers music education programs in title I schools, community centers, and partner organizations. In fiscal year 2025, school and community programs served approximately 197 students with 100% of participants receiving fully subsidized programming, totaling over 400 hours of instruction. Programs include guitar, voice, percussion, world music, and culturally responsive curriculum, designed to build developmental assets, social-emotional skills, and community connection.
$64,937 spent$34,660 earned by the program6% of program spendingSummer camps and learning labs: Phoenix Conservatory of Music's summer camps and creative learning labs provide immersive, week-long music education experiences designed to support skill development, creativity, and social-emotional growth during out-of-school time. In fiscal year 2025, pcm served 342 students through 42 week-long camp sessions over 7 weeks in the summer (avg. 6 per week), delivering 966 hours of direct instruction. These programs offered hands-on learning in areas such as instrumental performance (guitar, piano, voice, percussion), songwriting, audio production, beat-making, and contemporary ensemble work, culminating in live performances and family sharing events. More than 60% of summer camp participants received financial assistance or scholarships, making this program one of pcm's most significant access points for students from low- to moderate-income households. Additional program areas (group classes, camps, early childhood, learning through music):pcm offers a continuum of programs from early childhood through adulthood:early childhood programs: served 22 families with foundational music learning experiences supporting early development (32 instructional…
$154,482 spent$196,577 earned by the program14% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,128,542.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $139k to $403k (+190%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 8% · 2018 10% · 2019 9% · 2020 19% · 2021 35% · 2022 15% · 2023 50% · 2024 38% · 2025 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
48% of PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Regina Nixon
Executive director
Board chair
David Clower
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2023 and FY2024 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 5 funders to 11 funders, grant income rose $19k → $208k.
5 of 25 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 27% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 30% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
56% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 27% · 2018 25% · 2019 26% · 2020 58% · 2021 46% · 2022 44% · 2023 48% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
37% of PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 68% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
77% of PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC's grant income comes from Arizona funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $405k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC is better cushioned than half of the 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $90k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$90k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Arizona
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC?
- PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC (Arizona) receives grants from 25 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,526,343 to it, the largest being Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust ($457,500). 17 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC have?
- IRS filings report 25 organizations giving $1,526,343 in grants to PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC, 17 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC?
- Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust is the largest funder on record, with $457,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PHOENIX CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Arizona. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Phoenix Conservatory of Music →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 25 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing