Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310537080
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5137443306
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$115,839,819
Expenses
$41,961,505
Assets
$479,702,083
Liabilities
$28,203,058

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

Leadership & pay

51 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JONATHAN MARTIN (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • RICHARD FRESHWATER (VICE PRESIDENT & CFO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JONATHAN MARTIN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $642,323 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT MCGRATH (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $393,526 total reported compensation
  • RICHARD FRESHWATER (VICE PRESIDENT & CFO): $385,547 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the cincinnati symphony orchestra is to seek and share inspiration.

What it reported doing in 2024

Orchestra concerts of classical works (40), pops (18), youth and educational (209), and other concerts (40). Additionally, the orchestra provides services to the cincinnati ballet (41) as well as other services to similar mission-aligned entities. Through all program services of the orchestra the total number of arts patrons served was 242,098.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 32.7%; rating input score 33
  • Program expense ratio: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $37.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.1%; rating input score 95; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 63.8%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.43; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 32.7% of revenue deployed · 75.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 39 of 41 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $31.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $642K · 51 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.5M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.