Grant Park Orchestral Association

What it reported doing in 2025

The festival proudly nurtures the next generation of classical music talent, providing vital career development for emerging artists from historically under-represented backgrounds, and supporting community efforts that expand access to quality music education for chicago's young people. The festival's string and vocal fellowship program welcomed our 11th cohort in 2025. Fellows rehearsed and performed with festival ensembles, took part in master classes with visiting guest artists, developed and delivered free chamber concerts in neighborhood parks, and appeared in chicago's venerable dame myra hess and rush hour concert series. Through our visiting masters series, festival fellows and young artists from chicago music programs - enjoyed (continued on schedule o) opportunities to receive guidance and feedback from the season's renowned international soloists. This year featured master classes by stacy garrop (composition), imani winds (chamber music), inbal segev (cello), stephen osborne (piano), troy cook (vocal performance), and augustin hadelich (violin). All sessions were free and open to the public. We also strengthened our partnerships with community-based music education programs by moving our long-running friday night pre-concert series, young artists showcase, from the great lawn to the pritzker pavilion stage. Talented youth ensembles from chicago public schools, merit school of music, and area suzuki violin programs performed for festival patrons, raising the visibility of local music education initiatives and communicating the value of youth participation in the classical performing arts.free daytime open rehearsals featured trained volunteer docents conducting informal talks prior to the rehearsal and during intermission, providing insights into the program's works and composers. An estimated 30,000 people attended 46 working rehearsals at the pritzker pavilion.more than 3,000 festivalgoers of all ages enjoyed our popular pre-concert talks & activities. Moderated by composer/educator seth boustead, laura sauer-shah, larob k. Rafael, and other guest hosts, the 2025 series included discussions with giancarlo guerrero, guest conductor and performer andrew litton, composer jennifer higdon, and season soloists. Classical campers, the festival's signature children's program served more than 1,200 young people ages 6-12, hailing from 27 chicago park district summer camps across the city. Campers enjoyed a field trip to millennium park for a half-day, participatory music-immersion curriculum, culminating in observation of a grant park orchestra rehearsal. Classical campers provides modified lesson plans for individuals with disabilities, and last summer partnered with four chicago park district special recreation programs. Working in collaboration with the chicago park district, the festival annually brings free symphonic, choral, and chamber performances directly into chicago's neighborhoods as part of the night out in the parks program, extending the benefits of cultural participation to residents who cannot or do not attend our programming in millennium park. Our 2025 night out in the parks series engaged nearly 1,200 community members-22% of whom reported it was their first time attending a festival performance. Last summer's events comprised concerts by the fellows string quartet in edgewater, river north, edison park, west ridge, and streeterville; and performances by festival vocal fellows in jefferson park and lincoln park.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 57.8%; rating input score 58
• Program expense ratio: 68.2%; rating input score 68
• Fundraising efficiency: $6.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • 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: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 20%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.61; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 23% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings