Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Legal name: Jazz at Aspen-snowmass
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 841220222
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Aspen, CO, US
- Phone
- (970) 925-9042
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Music
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $18,004,691
- Expenses
- $15,628,326
- Assets
- $39,637,220
- Liabilities
- $3,926,799
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
38 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JAMES HOROWITZ (PRESIDENT & CEO)
- HOLLY UPPER (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JAMES HOROWITZ (PRESIDENT & CEO): $440,426 total reported compensation
- ANDREA BEARD (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $261,903 total reported compensation
- HOLLY UPPER (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT): $230,629 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Jazz Aspen Snowmass presents world-class jazz and music festivals, educational programs, and community events in the Roaring Fork Valley.
What it reported doing in 2024
Local education initiatives provided over $255,000 in support to local public middle and high schools, reaching 15 schools and over 1,500 students. This included support for jas's newest education program, the jas street horns, designed for advanced middle and high school students based on the western slope interested in a high-level band experience. Students study and perform with other advanced students at a level they are unlikely to receive in a school setting. The group meets monthly throughout the year for a rehearsal and various performances, working with local musicians, as well as professional musicians traveling to the area to perform for jas. This year long commitment includes an exciting and educational spring break trip to new orleans! All expenses for street horn participation, including the trip, are covered by jas.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 72% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 96
- Sustainability: 67
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78.3%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 89.1%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $16.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 13.2%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.54; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 26% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 78.3% of revenue deployed · 89.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 32 of 34 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $440K · 38 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.