Columbus Symphony Orchestra

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
316402408
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Columbus, OH, United States
Phone
614.228.9600
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,035,349
Expenses
$11,824,084
Assets
$81,145,880
Liabilities
$849,881

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MAUREEN O'BRIEN (CEO)

People named in this filing

  • STEPHEN E MARKOVICH (CHAIR)
  • ROBERT MORRISON JR (CO-VICE CHAIR)
  • NELSON YODER (CO-VICE CHAIR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The Columbus Symphony is dedicated to artistic excellence and community engagement, bringing visionary leadership and passion for the arts to Central Ohio.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cso education programs in the 2024 to 2025 season include a broad range of offerings designed to serve students, educators, and lifelong learners. Classroom programs include young people's concerts, in school concerts, the mindful music moments program, ensemble coaching, chamber performances, and an in school residency program.cso also supports four youth ensembles, youth orchestra, repertory orchestra, chamber strings, and junior strings, as well as a youth orchestra european tour. The academy provides intensive training for students of diverse backgrounds who aspire to pursue careers in music.for adult learners, fantasy camp offers a day-long immersive experience for amateur musicians to learn alongside symphony professionals. In addition, cso plans to relaunch its educational website for children in august.in total, cso education programs are projected to serve more than 50,000 individuals during the 2024 to 2025 season.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% 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

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.4%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.3%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.86; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 69.4% of revenue deployed · 73.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $8.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 29 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $619K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.