Ohio · Nonprofit
AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION
AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION (Ohio) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $175,403 to it, the largest being THE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION ($160,403). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 91% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $863k
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $175k
- Net assets
- $1.8M
What American Orff-Schulwerk Association does
Mission
The mission of american orff-shulwerk association is to demonstrate the value of orff-schulwerk and promote its widespread use; to support the professional development of our members; and to inspire and advocate for the creative potential of all learners.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The American Orff-Schulwerk Association annual professional development conference offers continuing education opportunities to aosa membership to expand the teaching of the creative music and movement approach developed by carl orff and gunild keetman. Presented annually in november, the conference historically serves more than 1,000 registrants attending 70+ workshops,presentations, and performances. Conference attendees may also visit music education vendors to learn more about products and services relating to orff schulwerk. The fye 2025 aosa professional development conference was held in des moines. Aosa provides digital/virtual training and resources via the aosa website. Aosa is committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive membership, promoting an understanding of issues of diversity and inclusion, and providing teaching and learning resources that respect, affirm, and protect the dignity and worth of all.
$394,241 spentof which $31,805 as grants$421,994 earned by the program69% of program spendingIn partnership with approximately 100 chapters, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association supports workshops that provide continuing education in orff schulwerk. These 250+ annual workshops are presented by approved aosa members. Additionally, aosa provides endorsement to more than 50 continuing education/certification programs presented by colleges, universities, school districts, and aosa chapters. A standing aosa-approved curriculum and aosa-sanctioned instructors are used by these programs to ensure membership receives consistent and equal training in the approach which can ultimately lead to aosa certification upon completion of the three levels of curriculum. Aosa also provides members access to a resource library containing various recordings, articles, lesson plans,and resources relating to teaching orff schulwerk in various settings. Through several endowments and organizational monies, grants are offered to aosa members to support attendance at levels courses or international orff schulwerk training opportunities, instrument purchase for the classroom use, and research activities. Finally, aosa chapters qualify for grants relating to their growth and needs in presenting…
$30,427 spent5% of program spendingPublications by the American Orff-Schulwerk Association provide on-going materials, research, and information to promote the orff schulwerk approach to music and movement education. The print publication, the orff echo is a quarterly journal dedicated to providing research and practical knowledge relating to music education through the schulwerk. Reverberations is a bi-monthly electronic newsletter containing learning opportunities for classroom and community use. A monthly newsletter, the aosa essentials, keeps members informed of organizational activities while the aosa website/app/social media offers timely and relevant information to membership and the greater community regarding orff schulwerk and music education. Additional stand-alone publications are also produced to support the mission of promoting orff schulwerk to the greater community.
$131,547 spent23% of program spendingResearch grant the research grant encourages research in varied applications of orff schulwerk, promoting the orff schulwerk philosophy and process. Awards up to 8,000 may be granted for selected research proposals. Research partnership grant the research partnership grant encourages collaborative research projects between a school music teacher as the primary investigator/team leader and a university-based researching teacher. Aosa's black,brown, indigenous, and asian outreach scholarship provides up to 1,400 funding for a person of a these backgrounds to attend the aosa professional development conference to receive training in orff-schulwerk.
$19,203 spentof which $19,203 as grants3% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $575,418.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $1.1M to $1.4M (+27%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 10% · 2025 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
48% of AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income rose $5k → $40k.
1 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 91% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 91% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
91% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2022 87% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
91% of AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $15k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside Ohio, across 2 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $160k arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
80% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
96%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION?
- AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION (Ohio) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $175,403 to it, the largest being THE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION ($160,403). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 91% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $175,403 in grants to AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION?
- THE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $160,403 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AMERICAN ORFF-SCHULWERK ASSOCIATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds American Orff-Schulwerk Association →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 3 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing