Holland Symphony Orchestra
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 382953082
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Holland, MI, USA
- Phone
- 6167966780
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Symphony Orchestras
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $852,121
- Expenses
- $694,471
- Assets
- $2,916,605
- Liabilities
- $128,496
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHAEL NAESS (PRESIDENT &)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL NAESS (PRESIDENT &): $82,157 total reported compensation
- JAYNE GORT (BOARD MEMBER): $5,234 total reported compensation
- ADAM GRAHAM (BOARD MEMBER): $2,049 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To engage all people in music to enrich the cultural life of the community through concerts, musical education and community collaborations.
What it reported doing in 2025
Holland symphony orchestra (hso) presented the 2025-2026 season with concerts, educational programming, and collaborative events. Thirteen concerts were programmed, and tickets were sold for 11 of the 13 concerts: 4 classical, 2 holiday, 2 carnegie hall link up concerts for 1,400 fourth- graders, 1 summer pops, 1 free community concert (approx. 1,500 guests), 2 youth orchestra concerts featuring three different youth ensembles, 2 historic classical concerts with world-renowned violinist midori, and 1 free open house family concert. We also host an hso summer camp for music education and manage a community strings ensemble. Attendance continues to grow during the season, with the matinee holiday concert reaching full capacity, and the final classical concert of the season reaching a capacity of 97%. Our june pops at the pier concert is held in the boatshed at the eldean shipyard and boasts a capacity of over 900. We also produced 8 free chamber concerts in surrounding churches, retirement facilities, and community centers, including two kids' concerts at the herrick public library.
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.
- 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 and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 65
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 68.9%; rating input score 69
- Program expense ratio: 74.9%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 18.5%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.2; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 68.9% of revenue deployed · 74.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $520K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $82K · 23 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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 21/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.