Astral Artists Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232654833
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
4844342006
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Employment Procurement Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$150,534
Expenses
$321,017
Assets
$738,950
Liabilities
$40,592

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LOURDES STARR (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LOURDES STARR (PRESIDENT & CEO): $158,330 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Astral's mission is to empower outstanding emerging musicians to shape purposeful and sustainable careers that inspire, connect, and excite diverse audiences. In november 2024, the board voted and approved that for various reasons, the organization will cease operations. The dissolution process is under way but not yet complete.

What it reported doing in 2024

Career guidance & development: early professional career services and mentoring for highly skilled classical musicians. Services also include contracting astral roster artists to perform on other concert series, networking opportunities, entrepreneurial development, and collaborative concerts with other presenting organizations.

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 - 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: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 63.1%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -113.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.3; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 49.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 63.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $203K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $158K · 19 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 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: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.