American Symphony Orchestra League
New York, NY · EIN 23-7300636. Reported 107 grants totalling $2,357,500 to 63 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For American Symphony Orchestra League, the IRS classifies it under arts & culture rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE A030) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 63 distinct organizations, with 10% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 76% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% private foundations manage. This list is close to settled, so a newcomer has to displace someone rather than fill a gap.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $25,000. Half of what it reported fell between $19,500 and $25,000; the smallest was $2,500 and the largest $65,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Composers Orchestra Inc | New York, NY | $230,000 | 6 | 4 | 2023 |
| San Diego Youth Symphony | San Diego, CA | $105,000 | 5 | 4 | 2023 |
| Symphony Tacoma | Tacoma, WA | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Youth Orchestras of San Antonio | San Antonio, TX | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Robert W Woodruff Arts Center Inc | Atlanta, GA | $80,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras Inc | Fairfield, CT | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Inc | Indianapolis, IN | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra | Kalamazoo, MI | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Minnesota Orchestral Association | Minneapolis, MN | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| New Jersey Symphony Orchestra | Newark, NJ | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Orchestra Lumos Inc | Stamford, CT | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| South Dakota Symphony Orchestra | Sioux Falls, SD | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| The Louisville Orchestra Inc | Louisville, KY | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Walla Walla Symphony Society Inc | Walla Walla, WA | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Winston Salem Symphony Assoc | Winston Salem, NC | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra Inc | Madison, WI | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| New Haven Symphony Orchestra Inc | New Haven, CT | $59,500 | 2 | 1 | 2020 |
| Jacksonville Symphony Association | Jacksonville, FL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Chicago Philharmonic Society | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Lexington Philharmonic Society Inc | Lexington, KY | $34,500 | 2 | 1 | 2020 |
| Project 440 Inc | Philadelphia, PA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Charleston Symphony Orchestra | Charleston, SC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hawaii Symphony Orchestra | Honolulu, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Napa Valley Youth Symphony | Napa, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Napa Valley Youth Symphony | Napa, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pittsburgh Symphony Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $22,000 | 2 | 1 | 2020 |
| Berkeley Symphony Orchestra | Berkeley, CA | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Society Inc | Charlotte, NC | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras | Chicago, IL | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | Cincinnati, OH | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Grant Park Orchestral Association | Chicago, IL | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Lenawee Symphony Orchestra Society Inc | Adrian, MI | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Los Angeles Philharmonic Association | Los Angeles, CA | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Inc | Milwaukee, WI | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| New World Symphony Inc | Miami Beach, FL | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| North Carolina Symphony Society Inc | Raleigh, NC | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Oregon Bravo Youth Orchestras | Portland, OR | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York Inc | New York, NY | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Princeton Symphony Orchestra Inc | Princeton, NJ | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra | Saint Louis, MO | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| San Diego Symphony Orchestra Association | San Diego, CA | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Society Inc | Little Rock, AR | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Contemporary Youth Orchestra | Cleveland, OH | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Society Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Virginia Symphony Orchestra | Norfolk, VA | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Kennett Symphony of Chester County | Kennett Sq, PA | $16,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Augusta Symphony Inc | Augusta, GA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Boise Philharmonic Association Inc | Boise, ID | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Boston Landmarks Orchestra Inc | Somerville, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra Inc | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra | Boulder, CO | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Chicago Sinfonietta Inc | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| El Paso Symphony Orchestra Assn | El Paso, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles Incorporated | Los Angeles, CA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| National Repertory Orchestra Inc Colorado Philharmonic | Breckenridge, CO | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| New York Youth Symphony Inc | New York, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Orchestra 2001 Incorporated | Philadelphia, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| University of Maryland College Park Foundation Inc | College Park, MD | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts Inc | Berkeley Hts, NJ | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall Inc | Detroit, MI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Knoxville Symphony Society Inc | Knoxville, TN | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Seattle Symphony Orchestra Inc | Seattle, WA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Musical Arts Association | Cleveland, OH | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
18 of 63 (29%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- American Composers Orchestra 494 8TH Avenue Ste 503 New York Ny 10001
WOMEN COMPOSING INITIATIVES
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 57 of 63 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 50 | $864,500 | $17,750 |
| 2021 | 22 | $573,000 | $25,000 |
| 2022 | 16 | $440,000 | $25,000 |
| 2023 | 19 | $480,000 | $25,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
11% of its giving went to organizations in New York. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $25,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in New York.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
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Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from American Symphony Orchestra League's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 19 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 520 8TH Ave 2005, New York, NY, 10018.
EIN 23-7300636 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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