American Friends of Chicken Shed Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 300099170
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2013
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 6465695742
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Theater
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $733,098
- Expenses
- $635,454
- Assets
- $486,703
- Liabilities
- $129,367
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ELAINE FINKLETAUB (CEO & PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ELAINE FINKLETAUB (CEO & PRESIDENT): $75,285 total reported compensation
- ELLIOT FISHMAN (SECRETARY & ASST. TREASURER): $55,246 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 promote, maintain and advance education of the arts; to promote inclusive theater for young people of all backgrounds and abilities.
What it reported doing in 2024
The company annually produces two mainstage musical shows with its chickenshed players: a devised production in june and a fully scripted musical in december. In 2024, the june devised production was called "4 minutes 28 seconds." the play was written in collaboration with the chickenshed players students and staff and had at its focal point the solar eclipse occurring in april 2024. Students met with astrophysicists, astronomers, and rocket scientists to gain underrstanding of the phenomenon and then wrote a musical play that included 62 students, many of whom with disabilities, on stage.the december 2024 show was"the toymaker's child," an original musical adaptation of the "pinnochio" story, featuring a robot as opposed to the traditional puppet. Company members prepared for the show by working with robotics expers and a robotics competition team. 70 cast members performed in this production.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 78% 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.
The verdict
STRONG - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 65.1%; rating input score 65
- Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: 13.3%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 20.5%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 42.1% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 31.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 41.4% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 65.1% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $477K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.