Texas Association for Symphony Orchestras

Legal name: Texas Association for Symphony Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742575225
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
2547177591
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$48,296
Expenses
$34,782
Assets
$323,695
Liabilities
$1,188

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DARLENE MORFORD (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • BETH GRIMM (PRESIDENT)
  • JANIE ORR (PRESIDENT ELECT)

People named in this filing

  • DARLENE MORFORD (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • BETH GRIMM (PRESIDENT)
  • JANIE ORR (PRESIDENT ELECT)

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 Texas Association for Symphony Orchestras provides for the exchange of ideas through leadership, networking, education, and advocacy for orchestras throughout Texas.

What it reported doing in 2024

Taso has an awards program in which members submit their project activities for evaluation. The winners are invited to present their recognized projects at the annual conference. Project categories include communication/technology, leadership/service, fundraising, and education. Additionally, awards for excellence are given to outstanding supporters of Texas symphonies in the following categories: volunteer, patron, business, and legislator.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 88.2%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 28%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.31; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -23.3% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 81.2% of revenue deployed · 88.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $31K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.