Atlanta Freedom Marching Band

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582102963
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4049410250
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$58,871
Expenses
$31,554
Assets
$537,329
Liabilities
$6,648

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jason Morley (President)
  • Jonathan Law (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Jason Morley (President)
  • Jonathan Law (Vice President)
  • Michelle Ramsey (Director)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Atlanta Freedom Bands provides a positive representation of our city's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and ally community through music. AFB is a community-based, service-oriented organization that provides an opportunity for creative musical expression for a diverse range of performers and provides outstanding entertainment in a welcoming, inclusive environment. We believe in the power of visibility to foster LGBTQ acceptance, and we strive to be a source of pride for the entire community.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Atlanta Freedom Bands (AFB) saw an exceptionally successful first half of 2025, driven by musical excellence and strong community visibility. The Concert Band achieved record audience attendance year over year for its March and June concerts. The ensemble also hired a new artistic director to continue driving excellence in the organization. Meanwhile, the versatile MetroGnomes ensemble supported numerous non-profits, performing community concerts at Tucker Brewing Company and entertaining guests at key fundraisers like the Chairish the Future Gala (Atlanta Furniture Bank), Good Human Gala (Lifeline Animal Rescue), and HRC Gala. The Color Guard and Marching Band significantly boosted their profile with a high-visibility performance at the Hawks NBA halftime show on Pride Night, in addition to participating in major regional events including Augusta Pride, the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Stone Mountain Mardi Gras, and the Habitat for Humanity Pride Dedication.

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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. 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: 38
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 58
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 20.4%; rating input score 20
  • Program expense ratio: 56.8%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 22nd 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: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 46.4%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 20.4% of revenue deployed · 56.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $18K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 1 filing year from 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 20/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.