Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology
exploring the role of sound and listening in natural and cultural environments
Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology
EIN: 83-1084531
as of September 2024
as of September 09, 2024
Mission
The Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology (MSAE) is dedicated to understanding the role of sound in natural habitats and human societies, while promoting public dialogue concerning the identification, preservation, and restoration of natural and cultural sound environments.
Ruling year
2022
President
Mr. Eric B Leonardson
Secretary
Lindsey French
Main address
1322 W Sherwin Ave
Chicago, IL 60626 USA
EIN
83-1084531
Environment
Arts and culture
Education
Community improvement
Environmental health
Population served
Ethnic and racial groups
Women and girls
Heterosexuals
LGBTQ people
Men and boys
NTEE code
Professional Societies & Associations (C03)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.
Tax forms
Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
By placing an emphasis on community and multidisciplinary collaboration we seek to serve our stakeholders in the broadest possible sense. Our world exists in sound. Listening is our primary interface with sound. In this environment human impacts have profoundly transformed the world’s soundscapes through technologies in unintended and negative ways. We believe understanding the complex systemic relationships of acoustic communication involves all who are impacted, from cutting edge research institutions to our grassroots citizenry. Study of the changing imbalances in our acoustic environment needs the involvement of everyone, human and beyond human, who are impacted by those imbalances. To remedy this we seek positive approaches, convening people for discovery and enjoyment through art and science.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Summer Soundwalks in the Parks
Seasonal soundwalks offered as part of the Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks initiative, since 2016.
Teaching artist members of the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology, along with science experts and musicians from partner organizations the lead series of guided soundwalks, workshops and training sessions that engage multi-generational communities in their own neighborhoods across Chicago.
Participants' relationship with their environment mediated by sound are involved. Rivers, streets, residential and commercial dwellings, traffic patterns, human and animal sounds all feature in these soundscapes.
Past artists: Experimental Sound Studio, Lindsey French, Amanda Gutiérrez, Billie Jean Howard, Ryan Ingebritsen, Inferno Mobile Studio, Eric Leonardson, Chloe Lin, Norman W. Long, Paige Alice Naylor, Christophe Preissing, Veronica Anne Salinas, Andy Slater, Jonas Sun, Marvin Tate, Sadie Woods & Sara Zalek.
Summer 2023 Program: https://mwsae.org/2023-calendar-of-events/
Where we work
Awards
grant 2022
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Affiliations & memberships
World Forum for Acoustic Ecology 2020
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of free performances given
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, Non-adult children, Parents, Artists and performers, Students
Related Program
Summer Soundwalks in the Parks
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
This includes our soundwalks and listening sessions for our programs and collaborative programs, including Night Out in the Parks, Hear Below and Aural Architecture.
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of new organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
By supporting artists, scientists, scholars, and designers in multidisciplinary productions and connecting them with those who benefit from their effort, we promote a critically engaged citizenship and agency that is urgently necessary for achieving ecological and sustainable balance in all its diverse acoustic dimensions.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We promote public dialogue concerning the identification, preservation, and restoration of natural and cultural sound environments. We realize our mission through local and regional initiatives. These include public soundwalks, educational workshops, and creative and scholarly productions.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
Financial data
Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: 2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
| Revenue | |
|---|---|
| Contributions, Grants, Gifts | $5,000 |
| Program Services | $5,080 |
| Membership Dues | $877 |
| Special Events | $0 |
| Other Revenue | $0 |
| Total Revenue | $10,957 |
| Expenses | |
|---|---|
| Program Services | $6,603 |
| Administration | $1,000 |
| Fundraising | $0 |
| Payments to Affiliates | $0 |
| Other Expenses | $0 |
| Total Expenses | $3,790 |
Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology
Balance sheetFiscal Year: 2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
| Assets | |
|---|---|
| Total Assets | $9,542 |
| Liabilities | |
|---|---|
| Total Liabilities | $0 |
| Fund balance (EOY) | |
|---|---|
| Net Assets | $13,619 |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
President
Mr. Eric B Leonardson
Eric Leonardson, a Chicago-based composer, radio artist, sound designer, instrument inventor, improviser, and teacher, devotes a majority of his professional career to unorthodox approaches to sound and its instrumentation with a broad understanding of texture, atmosphere and micro-tones. As a practicing artist and educator he has an interest in the elusive lines that separate art media and disciplines; the promise of technology to enable new possibilities in art, discovering connections between physical action, sensory perception, and ideas.
Leonardson serves as co-founder and President of both the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology and the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology. He is an Associate Professor Adjunct in the Department of Sound at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Since 1994 he performs locally and internationally with the Springboard, a self-built instrument made in 1994 and often presents on acoustic ecology to new audiences.
Secretary
Lindsey French
Lindsey french (she/they) is an artist, educator and writer whose work engages in multi-sensory signaling within ecological and technological systems. She has shared her work nationally in museums, galleries, screenings, and diy art spaces including the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago) and the International Museum of Surgical Science (Chicago), Pratt Manhattan Gallery (New York), the Miller Gallery for Contemporary Art (Pittsburgh), and Lease Agreement (Lubbock). Recent publications include chapters for Olfactory Art and The Political in an Age of Resistance (Routledge), Why Look at Plants (Brill), and poetry for the journal Forty-Five.
There are no officers, directors or key employees recorded for this organization
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology
Board of directorsas of 06/27/2024
Board of directors data
Mr. Eric Leonardson
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Term: 2018 - 2025
Norman W. Long
Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education
Linda Nelson Keane
Next CC, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Adrian Wood
University of Virginia
Nomi Epstein
Berklee College of Music
Lindsey M French
University of Regina, Canada
Veronica Anne Salinas
High Concept Labs
Jakob Heinemann
Jewish Social Services of Madison
Cria M. Kay
Northwestern University, sustainNU
Sarah Clewett
Institute for Therapy through the Arts (ITA)
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/27/2024GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
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