Guitar Foundation of America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510147668
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
8775701651
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Music

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$462,510
Expenses
$439,303
Assets
$395,475
Liabilities
$201,278

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Martha Masters (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Martha Masters (President): $19,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Guitar Foundation of America inspires artistry, builds community, and promotes the classical guitar internationally through excellence in performance, literature, education and research.

What it reported doing in 2024

The GFA has been dedicated as a nonprofit organization supporting the development of the classical guitar community since its inception in 1973 at the National GuitarConvention sponsored by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA). It has, since the 1970's, published the quarterly journal Soundboard, annual scholarly journal, Soundboard Scholar, and quarterly youth oriented publication Prodigies; established a large archive of scores, books and manuscripts; hosted the annual GFA Convection and musical performance competitions including the prestigiousInternational Concert Artist Competition and International Youth Competitions; commissioned composers of classical guitar music; organized the annual GFA-sponsored competition winner's concert tour currently comprised of approximately 50 concerts around the United States; held multiple annual Regional Symposia(one day mini-conventions) in various locations; and stablished pre-college classical guitar programs in cities across the country.

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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 73.6%; rating input score 74
  • 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 23rd 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: 5%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.9; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.4% of revenue deployed · 73.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 21 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $323K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $19K · 21 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.