Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 1980.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
17 people listed on the 990; $273K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Rachel Watts’s $175K as Executive Director is at the 76th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $1–10M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 5 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rachel Watts | $174,737 | $177,688 | $148,895 | $143,127 | $93,496 | — |
| Steven Tennen | — | — | — | — | — | $149,177 |
| Frances Van Horn | — | — | — | $126,807 | $115,853 | $126,521 |
| Edisson Marmolejo | $113,930 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Keith Kaminski | $101,828 | — | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See The Arts Connection INC executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
- Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed
Programs and updates
Connects professional arts organizations with inner-city communities in NYC.
Questions for The Arts Connection INC
Your first name shows with your question. The Arts Connection INC answers here, for everyone.
In schoolin fy 19, artsconnection's faculty of 146 teaching artists provided instruction over 32,000 students, grades pre-k through 12, attending 126 public schools across nyc. Programs featured students learning in dance, theater, music, media, and the visual arts.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2018. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 13-2953240) · Dispute this lineTeen programsout-of-school-time teen programs linked nyc's cultural resources to the developmental and educational needs of 13,000 teens. Programs included: high 5 tickets, distributing free and deeply discounted tickets; the teen reviewers and critics (trac) 10-WEEK writing and arts-going courses led by professional journalists; the…
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2018. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 13-2953240) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2019 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY19 | End FY19 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $505K | $229K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $3K | $19K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.6M | $1.6M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $679K | $920K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $918K | $653K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $90K | $90K | ||
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $200K | $107K | $50K | $44K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $3.1M | $2.5M | $223K | $302K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $272K | $221K | $23K | $29K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $304K | $246K | $25K | $32K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $31K | $27K | $403 | $4K |
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $49K | $49K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $419K | $359K | $9K | $50K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $150K | $101K | $15K | $33K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $308K | $225K | $37K | $46K |
| TravelLn 17 | $25K | $24K | $33 | $1K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $73K | $72K | $401 | $1K |
| InterestLn 20 | $22K | $15K | $3K | $4K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $5K | $3K | $638 | $808 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $302K | $218K | $4K | $80K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $5.3M | $4.2M | $391K | $676K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 12, 2026 | $4.0M | $3.9M | $154K | $1.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Jun 13, 2025 | $3.6M | $4.2M | −$641K | $884K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Jul 15, 2024 | $5.2M | $5.1M | $159K | $1.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Jul 14, 2023 | $4.4M | $4.7M | −$249K | $1.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Jul 14, 2022 | $5.2M | $4.0M | $1.1M | $1.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Mar 31, 2022 | $4.4M | $4.5M | −$108K | $545K | 990 PDF |
| FY2019 ViewingFiled with the IRS Jul 12, 2021 | $5.0M | $5.3M | −$266K | $653K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2019 990
Part I · Summary $5,046,399 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 15 of 16 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,046,399 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,312,019 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,572,813 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $652,722 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2019 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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