Artsconnection Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132953240
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2123027433
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,004,151
Expenses
$3,850,307
Assets
$1,623,901
Liabilities
$586,489

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RACHEL WATTS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • RACHEL WATTS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $184,211 total reported compensation
  • EDISSON MARMOLEJO (SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR FINANCE): $122,743 total reported compensation
  • KEITH KAMINSKI (DEP DIR PLANNING AND OPS): $116,605 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 address the educational challenges for the 21st century, artsconnection's research-based arts programs create socially just learning environments. Our programs support literacy, communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. Artsconnection's partnerships include and strengthen the diverse voices of New York city's children and youth, cultivating their arts and academic skills for success in a changing world.

What it reported doing in 2024

In-school and professional learning programs in fy 25, artsconnection's faculty of 90+ teaching artists worked with staff to successfully deepen our work in schools. We worked with students, educators, and families from 64 schools across the city through dance, theater, music, media, puppetry, and visual arts, serving 23,944 students directly and 14,550 students and families indirectly. Instruction involved 15-30 sessions for classes on one or more grade levels with a varied mix of family events, performances, and/or professional development workshops for educators at each site. Artsconnection's professional learning programs provide a variety of workshops in-person or virtual and online resources to help strengthen teaching and learning for adults working with young people and interested in integrating the arts into their work. Our professional learning website https://teachwithartsconnection.org/ is filled with free activities, resources, and tools for educators and anyone working with young people. In fy25, we served 2,217 educators across a total of 89 workshops.

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 98% 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 76.2%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.8%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.3% of revenue deployed · 76.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $184K · 25 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 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 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.