American Symphony Orchestra League D/b/a League of American Orchestras

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237300636
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2122625161
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,258,126
Expenses
$6,934,935
Assets
$10,938,145
Liabilities
$1,811,954

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

Leadership & pay

65 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SIMON WOODS (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SIMON WOODS (PRESIDENT/CEO): $483,379 total reported compensation
  • HEATHER NOONAN (VP ADVOCACY): $264,763 total reported compensation
  • MARLAH MCDUFFIE (VP OF DEVELOPMENT): $231,595 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 advance the experience of orchestral music, support the people and organizations that create it, and champion the contributions they make to the health and vibrancy of communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Learning and leadership development: the league delivers a range of online and in-person learning opportunities, including seminars and webinars, constituency meetings, mentoring programs, and cohort-based programs. It also operates grant-making programs that support organizational learning in innovation and in equity, diversity, and inclusion. Through these programs, orchestra staff, board members, musicians, and volunteers can acquire skills, knowledge, and networks that are vital to their leadership in the field. The annual national conference and mid winter managers meeting offer additional opportunities for networking and professional development, while providing a forum to discuss emerging issues and trends, exchange ideas, and model possible responses to field-wide challenges and opportunities.

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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.1%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 65.5%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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: 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: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.58; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.6%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.1% of revenue deployed · 65.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 55 of 55 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $4.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $483K · 65 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.