Athens Old Fiddlers Foundation Wilkes
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 993580896
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2024
- Location
- Athens, TX, USA
- Phone
- 9032794791
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Celebrations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $56,717
- Expenses
- $39,486
- Assets
- $22,505
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
People named in this filing
- CAMILLE CAIN BARNES (SECRETARY)
- DREW BORING (VICE CHAIRMA)
- BILL HULLUM (TREASURER)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The athens old fiddlers foundations mission is to preserve and celebrate the rich heritage of traditional music and fiddle music through community engagement and cultural initiatives. We aim to foster a deeper appreciation for this timeless art form, support local talent, and ensure its legacy for future generations by organizing live performances and music education programs. Established as a Texas nonprofit corporation on june 13, 2024, the foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization based in athens, Texas. It plays a central role in organizing the annual athens old fiddlers contest & reunion, the longest-running fiddle contest in Texas, dating back to 1932. This free, family-friendly event features fiddling competitions, street dances, arts and crafts, classic car shows, and workshops, drawing musicians and fans from across the country. Through its efforts, the foundation ensures that the tradition of fiddling continues to thrive in east Texas and beyond.
What it reported doing in 2025
Fostering community engagement to support local talent and preserve our musical heritage.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 35
- Sustainability: 57
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69.6%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 30.4%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 69.6% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 8 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $39K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
- Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.