Aimusic US

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464226663
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Cupertino, CA, USA
Phone
4082535998
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$424,303
Expenses
$422,756
Assets
$254,496
Liabilities
$126,860

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Frank Sun (President)
  • XIE Tan Lee (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • XIE Tan Lee (Executive Director): $105,150 total reported compensation
  • Tzu-In Pan (Treasurer): $20,760 total reported compensation
  • Yunzhang Pei (Secretary): $15,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To dedicate, celebrate, and preserve cultural heritages, create a community rich with ethic intellectual diversity, to nurture students with a loving heart to serve others with traditional music.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cultural Exchange Activities: We held our 10th International Aimusic Festival at the McAfee Performing Arts Center in Saratoga in May 2025. Guest artists from China and various other cities were invited to participate. Several new pieces for both large and small ensembles were premiered during the event.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.2%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 67.2%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.6%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.3% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.2% of revenue deployed · 67.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $284K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $105K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.