American Orff-Schulwerk Association

“Members have the right to elect the governing body.”

“The form 990 is presented to the finance staff, executive director and executive committee for review and approval. The executive committee is delegated authority by the board to approve the 990 for filing. After the executive committee's approval, the 990 is provided electronically to the board prior to filing with the irs.”

“Each year, the board members are asked to review the organization's conflict of interest policy. Among other things, the policy makes clear that all decisions of the board, officers, and employees of the organization are made solely on the basis of a desire to promote the best interest of the organization and the public good. The conflict of interest statement requests board members to identify to the best of their knowledge affiliations with organizations that may be potentially related to the financials or other substantive operations of the organization. They are also asked to identify circumstances involving either themselves, or a member of their extended family, that may be construed as a conflict of interest. At the staff level, the organization's personnel also ensure that there are no conflicts of interest when considering the engagement of a new vendor. If a potential conflict is identified, appropriate steps are taken to both assess the nature of the potential conflict and, subsequently, to ensure that the possibility of an actual conflict is mitigated. Such mitigation is managed and the letter and spirit of the conflicts policy are upheld.”

“The executive committee annually evaluates the performance of the executive director. Compensation is based on performance and compared to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size. The board has adopted the irs-written "rebuttable presumption" checklist which is completed contemporaneous with the performance review.”

“Compensation for staff within the organization is determined by the executive director. The level of compensation is set based on performance and in relation to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size. This compensation is a component of the budget, which is reviewed and approved by the finance committee and also by the board as a whole.”

“The organization's governing documents, form 990 conflict of interest policy and financial statements are made available to the public upon request.”

“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.”

“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 120+ 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 2024 aosa professional development conference was held in albuquerque, nm. 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.”

“In 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 the schulwerk in their community”

“Publications 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.”

“Research 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.”

“Contract services 31,737 0 0 15,000 6,000 0 reallocation -5,701 0 0 orff echo/ dir contract services 56,280 0 0 total 97,316 6,000 0”