Atlanta Festival Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831944217
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Alpharetta, GA, USA
Phone
4045188891
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$249,249
Expenses
$134,050
Assets
$298,670
Liabilities
$69,949

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • William Pu (President, Dir.)

People named in this filing

  • William Pu (President, Dir.)
  • Amy Chang (Treasurer, Dir.)
  • Wei Lin (Secretary, Dir.)

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

Our mission is to provide cultural education and exchange programs for young musicians and artists around the world through performances, lectures and competitions.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, our organization accomplished the following:- Hosted the 2025 AFA Summer Festival, providing intensive classical music training to pre-college string, wind, brass, and percussion students through the Chamber Music Seminar and Orchestra Intensive programs- Awarded need-based and merit-based scholarships totaling approximately $40,000 to eligible Summer Festival and Virtuosi participants- Held inaugural AFA Young Artist Competition, attracting 90+ applicants from 17 states and 6 countries. The live semi-final and final rounds took place in Johns Creek with 25 young musicians from all over the U.S, Hong Kong, and the U.K.- Continued the Atlanta Festival Virtuosi (AFV) year-round youth orchestra program for elite students ages 1318- Delivered masterclasses, coachings, and in-school programming to approximately 250 students through AFA's outreach initiatives- Reached a cumulative total of over 500 student participants in AFA programs since the organization's founding in 2019

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47.8%; rating input score 48
  • Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 46.2%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.23; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10.4% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 47.8% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $112K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.