Friends of Materials for the Arts Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 810551712
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Long Island City, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7187292028
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Visual Arts Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $922,354
- Expenses
- $972,696
- Assets
- $1,166,450
- Liabilities
- $57,548
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TARA SANSONE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- TARA SANSONE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $47,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Friends of materials for the arts (foma) is a 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to support materials for the arts (mfta) with providing public programming, material donations, and infrastructure that helps engage the nyc community to teach about creative reuse. The city of New York funds infrastructural and operational costs for mfta, and it falls upon foma, mfta's nonprofit partner, to support other initiatives to reach a broader audience through our education center, which currently reaches tens of thousands of people through our programing.founded in 1978, mfta is nyc's largest creative reuse center dedicated to supporting artists and arts organizations. Since its inclusion of public schools as members in 1998, mfta is proud to be the largest provider of free art materials to the nyc department of education.
What it reported doing in 2024
Mfta provides materials to 4,670 recipient member organizations. 416 (9%) government agencies, 1,871 (40%) nyc schools, 1,668 (36%) arts groups, 715 (15%) community and social service groups with budgets ranging from $20,000 to $500,000+. In total, 49% of mfta's members are government agencies. Mfta serves nyc public schools, arts nonprofits, city agencies and social service and social justice organizations that include artists, audience members, directors, choreographers, dancers, actors, set designers, art therapists, after-school providers, hospital staff, homeless shelters, teachers, students, and senior citizens. The socioeconomic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, and language of our member groups, donors, and volunteers are highly diverse, mirroring the richness of nyc. Today, mfta's donation cycle diverts over 2 million pounds of materials, valued at over $14 million from landfills. These quality goods are redistributed and made available to our organizations such as nonprofits and nyc schools, free of charge.the mfta education center, which consists of our artist-in-residence studio, designer-in-residence program, field trip program, in school residencies, repair program, mfta gallery and free public third thursday workshops, expose the work of many artists to the participants within the mfta education center and provide a remarkable benefit to almost 4,700 active member groups as well as the general public.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 68.5%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 62.8%; rating input score 63
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
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: 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -5.5%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.2; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 68.5% of revenue deployed · 62.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $611K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.