Organization for Transformative Works
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 383765024
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013, Form 990-N 2008
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 9292603369
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Media, Communications Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $877,181
- Expenses
- $598,748
- Assets
- $3,747,854
- Liabilities
- $18,888
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ANH PHAM (PRESIDENT)
- KATHERYN SODERHOLM (VICE PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- ANH PHAM (PRESIDENT)
- ZIXIN ZHANG (BOARD MEMBER)
- JENNIFER HAYNES (BOARD MEMBER)
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
The organization for transformative works (otw) is a non-profit run by and for fans to provide access to and preserve the history of fanworks and fan cultures.
What it reported doing in 2024
In 2024, the archive of our own (ao3) celebrated its 15th anniversary and reached a milestone of 14 million fanworks on the site.ao3 made updates to its tos to clarify existing language and increase accessibility and made technical upgrades to its site for continued stability.in addition to changes to ao3's tos, the were also updated. Tos faq updates prioritized addressing a far more comprehensive list of questions about ao3 and its tos based on the questions and misunderstandings policy & abuse has seen in reports. A total of almost 20,000 words, including over 130 new questions, were added to the tos faq.an open comment period was announced for feedback on the tos and tos faq updates. The news post received over 4,300 comments from users. Policy & abuse, in conjunction with the news post moderation team, responded to over 400 comments, providing clarity about the updates to the documents as well as ao3 in general.in addition to tos updates, policy & abuse received 27,700 tickets in 2024 spanning a variety of categories, an increase compared to 2023's 23,600.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 41
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 37.2%; rating input score 37
- Program expense ratio: 54.5%; rating input score 54
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 31.7%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.26; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 20.8% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 37.2% of revenue deployed · 54.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $326K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 37/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 54/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.