Arts Services Initiative of Western New York INC

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454531129
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone
7168333004
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,290,427
Expenses
$1,362,204
Assets
$640,692
Liabilities
$341,137

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER SWAN-KILPATRICK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • OWEN O SUILLEABHAIN (BOARD MEMBER/PRESIDENT)
  • MICHELLE BRASWELL (BOARD MEMBER/VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER SWAN-KILPATRICK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $69,848 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Arts services inc. (asi) empowers the region's artists and arts organizations with connections to funding, learning opportunities, and community access to the arts. We are a resource hub for the western New York arts and cultural sector.

What it reported doing in 2025

Scr (formerly dec regrant program) - asi administers community arts, arts education, and individual artist re-grants through the New York state council on the arts statewide community regrant (scr) program. This program includes designing and releasing a program application and manual, creating review panels to determine the successful applicants, and contracting with and monitoring of successful applicants. Additional re-grant funds were added for an artist residency/springboard fellowship category, supported by senator sean ryan ($27,000).

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 72% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 67% for direct work, and 33% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.3%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 89.4%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 59.3%; rating input score 59; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: -5.6%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.3% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $70K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 15 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.