Great Falls Symphony Assoc Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
816014907
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Great Falls, MT, USA
Phone
4064534102
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,096,808
Expenses
$1,059,958
Assets
$3,071,121
Liabilities
$188,780

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HILLARY R SHEPHERD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • RAYMOND PORTER (PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL HAFFEMAN (PRESIDENT ELECT)

Highest reported compensation

  • HILLARY R SHEPHERD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $75,000 total reported compensation
  • GRANT HARVILLE (MUSIC DIRECTOR): $52,417 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 great falls symphony is to infuse cultural vibrancy into the great falls community through transformative music events and education programs

What it reported doing in 2024

The great falls symphony association is an established cultural organization incorporated in 1959. We strive to offer a variety of live symphonic and chamber music within our mission to make great falls a better place through music.the great falls symphony includes a 65-member professional orchestra, an 80-member symphonic choir and two professional resident chamber ensembles, the cascade (string) quartet made up of 4 "core orchestral musicians.a youth orchestra program was established in 1996 under the umbrella of the great falls symphony association that supports two youth orchestras and a youth chamber music program. Over 100 talented young musicians grades 6-12 from great falls and surrounding areas participate in the program every year. These components offer a rich and diverse mix of activities that include orchestra, choral, chamber and educational concerts which reach up to 40,000 people annually.the great falls symphony presents a 7-concert classical series every year and plays host to a variety of guest artists and resident composers. The cascade quartet present a total of 8 chamber concerts in great falls. They also tour Montana and the united states. To fulfill a state and regional mission, the great falls symphony places the highest priority on programs that provide statewide education and outreach. Two youth matinees and a free family matinee are presented each season and have served well over 115,000 students from the public, private and home schools in a 100-mile region around great falls.the great falls symphony partners with a large number of organizations in order to provide high quality artistic and educational programs for all.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.8%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 53.9%; rating input score 54
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.4%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.9; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.8% of revenue deployed · 53.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $571K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.