American Composers Orchestra Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132838450
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2129778495
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,283,167
Expenses
$2,331,239
Assets
$4,464,538
Liabilities
$148,821

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MELISSA NGAN (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MELISSA NGAN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $223,438 total reported compensation
  • JONATHAN HOLLAND (DIRECTOR): $5,750 total reported compensation
  • MELINDA WAGNER (DIRECTOR): $2,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Performance, presentation, commissioning, recording and dissemination of american music for symphony orchestra; professional development for american composers; and education activities about american music for students and the general public.

What it reported doing in 2024

Earshot: opportunities for emerging composers american composers orchestra's earshot composer advancement initiatives form the first ongoing, systematic program for developing relationships between composers and orchestras on the national level. Through orchestral readings, colaboratory residencies, consortium commissions, concerts, recordings, and professional development, earshot ensures a vibrant musical future by investing in creativity today. Aco produced eight virtual professional development webinars on topics including networking, self-publishing, commissioning agreements and consortia, orchestration, fundraising, public speaking, and more, serving 800 individuals. Aco's earshot readings served 22 featured artists via its own june readings in nyc, and four others in partnership with symphony orchestras in Texas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Colaboratory residencies provided commissions and workshops to 8 artists creating five works. Eight composers had works published in partnership with boosey & hawkes. In 2024-25, earshot served 51 artists who self-identify as 76% bipoc and 51% female or nonbinary.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 69.6%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.4%; rating input score 96; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.1%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.92; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73% of revenue deployed · 69.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 28 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $223K · 29 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.