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AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS

NEW YORK, NY · EIN 130429640 · Form 990PF · FY2024 · Large ($10M-$50M)
revenue
$13.8M
expenses
$4.4M
net assets
$116.8M
employees
profile · synthesized from sources

The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a New York-based organization that supports and honors distinguished artists, writers, composers, and architects through grants and awards. It funds individuals and institutions advancing literary, musical, and artistic legacies, with a focus on American contributions to the arts. The organization operates primarily by disbursing financial awards to honorees and supporting creative development.

named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Architectural Awards
Recognizes architects who have made significant contributions to architecture as an art
Artist Awards
Provides financial recognition to painters, sculptors, and visual artists of extraordinary achievement
Literature Awards
Honors writers who have made significant contributions to American literature and prose
Music Commissions and Fellowships
Supports composers and musical innovators through income grants and legacy projects
New Musical Workshops
Funds developmental workshops for promising new musical theater productions
activities · 3 groups

What they do

  • Artist Support Grants 3 activities
    • Funding awards for distinguished contributions in literature
      Funds awards to honor writers who have made significant contributions to American literature, including recognition for exceptional prose writing.
    • Funding awards for excellence in music composition and vocal writing
      Funds awards to honor exceptional writers for vocal music and supports efforts to advance the legacies of influential composers such as Charles Ives and Otto Luening through dedicated foundations and alliances.
    • Funding income support for emerging composers
      Provides income support grants to promising composers to enable full-time focus on composition and creative development.
  • Design and Architecture Education Support 1 activity
    • Funding awards for distinguished achievement in visual arts
      Funds awards to honor painters of extraordinary achievement and architects who have made significant contributions to architecture as an art.
  • Performing Arts Production Support 1 activity
    • Funding workshops and development of new musical works
      Funds workshops for promising new musicals, including Gun & Powder and The Monster, to support the creation and development of original works in musical theater.
financials · form 990PF · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$13.80M
Contributions & grants$132K1%
Program service revenue
Investment income$4.30M31%
Other revenue$9.08M
expenses
Total expenses$4.38M
Program expenses
Admin / overhead
Fundraising
Salaries & benefits$310K
Grants paid out$1.05M
balance sheet
Total assets$117.34M
Cash
Investments
Liabilities
Net assets$116.79M
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +389.5%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
CODY UPTON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $310K
relationships · 5

Who they work with

  • AMERICAN COMPOSERS ALLIANCE Partner — Recipient of grant funding to further the musical legacy of Otto Luening.
  • CHARLES IVES SOCIETY Partner — Recipient of grant funding to further the musical legacy of Charles Ives.
  • DIVERSIONARY THEATRE Partner — Recipient of grant funding to support a workshop of a new musical.
  • PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE Partner — Recipient of grant funding to support a workshop of a new musical.
  • SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY MUSIC FOUNDATION IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Partner — Recipient of grant funding to further the musical legacy of Otto Luening.
strategies · 3

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Cultural Legacy Preservation through Support of Past Artists' Work
    methodology: cultural_legacy_preservation
    By supporting projects that highlight past artists, the organization preserves cultural heritage and inspires future creation, because engagement with historical artistic contributions strengthens contemporary practice and public appreciation.
  • Funding Development-Stage Workshops for New Works
    methodology: development-stage_workshop_funding
    By funding workshops during the early stages of development, the organization advances the creation of new musical works, because structured developmental support improves artistic refinement and production readiness.
  • Income Replacement to Enable Artistic Creation
    methodology: artist_support_through_income_replacement
    By providing financial support, the organization enables composers and artists to focus full-time on their creative work, because removing the need for external employment increases artistic output and quality.