The Animation Project Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262318845
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
6462466195
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$824,551
Expenses
$988,227
Assets
$283,175
Liabilities
$16,483

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • BRIAN AUSTIN (Executive Dir.): $112,231 total reported compensation
  • NATASHA AMENDOLARA (ASSOC EXEC DIR): $104,782 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 Animation Project (TAP) believes that in order to effect change in the lives of youth, we must first build the emotional coping skills, especially impulse control, necessary to ensure that they make good choices. Secondly, we must improve their interpersonal skills by promoting collaboration, healthy self-esteem and self-governance, enabling the autonomy needed to fulfill adult roles and responsibilities. Thirdly, by capitalizing on the emotional and social growth of our initial steps, we are able to create an environment whereby youth are able to effectively learn and make use of practical technical skills (in our case, digital art technology).

What it reported doing in 2024

The Made in New York Animation Project (TAP) offered high quality therapeutic animation programs to schools, after schools programs and community sites throughout NYC. With the guidance of our skilled Animation Teaching Artist and Creative Arts Therapist teams, participants explored career pathways in animation, learned various aspects of the animation pipeline, developed vital social emotional skills and used multiple modalities to work together and produce original animated films. TAP also supported 123 young New Yorkers through a highly accessible virtual career readiness summer program in animation and related industries. Each participant received up to 72 hours of incentivized sessions with the goals of youth engagement, connection, creative exploration, education, career development and networking. Participants contributed to the creation of original short animations, created personalized resumes and cover letters, learned workplace self-care techniques and earned digital badges credentials. A total of 69 digital badges were awarded and over $115,000 in incentives were distributed.TAP's Training Program returned in-person this year, on site at the Commonpoint Queens Youth Opportunity Hub. Through this 9-week partnership, TAP trained 10 young creatives on how to create original animated GIFs using Adobe Photoshop, Animate, After Effects and Blender. They strengthened their career readiness and financial wellness skills and earned both technical and workforce development digital badge credentials. The trainees were celebrated by friends, family, and program staff at a graduation ceremony.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 81% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.5%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -19.9%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.5% of revenue deployed · 82.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $813K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $112K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.
  • 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 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.