Arizona Opera Company

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237169261
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6022667464
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,497,801
Expenses
$5,875,178
Assets
$16,510,817
Liabilities
$1,515,177

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

38 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSEPH SPECTER (PRES. & GENERAL DIRECTOR (THRU 4/25)): $280,480 total reported compensation
  • JOANN SERRA (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, ADMINISTRATION): $131,105 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Arizona opera elevates the transformative power of storytelling through music - cultivating community and strengthening a state and people as adventurous and diverse as the place they call home.

What it reported doing in 2024

Arizona opera's 2024/25 season included a reduced season format with one fully staged opera, one site-specific opera, a family opera and a concert opera, as well as a number of education and community engagement programs that extended throughout the year. Fall 2024 included a family-oriented performance of hector armienta's coyotes and rabbits with performances happening in and around phoenix and tucson, Arizona, as well as the one-person opera telltale heart, as part of the beyond downtown series. This series continued in the spring with mozart's the secret gardener with performances at tohono chul in tucson and the monroe street abbey in phoenix both performances were sold out. The company produced puccini's la boheme in january and february 2024, and in april produced giuseppe verdi's aida in concert, accompanied by a new film made with artificial intelligence. In addition, Arizona opera's nextgen initiative continued its focus on developing the next generation of opera artists and audiences, including a robust schedule of k-12 educational and community programs, and training programs for emerging professionals. These programs included our in-school arlyn m. Brewster opera unity tour that reaches over 30,000 children per year across the state and our student preview performances in theater; our elite training programs for young singers and theater technicians, include the marion roose pullin studio, which give singers, pianists and stage directors the professional experience they need to launch their careers; and a wide variety of community engagement and adult education opportunities that allow us to serve our community in the most fulsome way possible, whether one brand new to opera, or a lifelong fan. In the 2024/25 season, Arizona opera served approximately 12,000 arizonans through in-theater performances; over 35,000 k-12 students through our education programs; and nearly 10,000 residents through our community programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 69% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 62.8%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -30.6%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.81; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 62.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 34 of 34 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $280K · 38 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $133K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.