National Opera Association
Legal name: National Opera Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 386089684
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2025
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
- Location
- Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Phone
- 734.615.3784
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Professional Societies, Associations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $224,597
- Expenses
- $176,910
- Assets
- $414,371
- Liabilities
- $2,407
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Kirk Severtson (Executive Director)
- Isai Jess Munoz (Immediate Past President)
- Christopher Pfund (President)
- Shelby VanNordstrand (President-Elect)
- Ann Marie Wilcox-Daehn (Vice President)
- Joshua May (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Kirk Severtson (Executive Director): $18,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The National Opera Association champions excellence and innovation in the performance, scholarship, and pedagogy of opera. The National Opera Association was founded in 1955, under the auspices of the National Music Council. The National Opera Association seeks to promote a greater appreciation of opera and music theatre, to enhance pedagogy and performing activities, and to increase performance opportunities by supporting projects that improve the scope and quality of opera. Members in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia participate in a wide array of activities in support of this mission. Who we serve... Through its prosperous history, the NOA has primarily served education and performance activities in academic institutions and small regional opera companies. The organization especially wel.
What it reported doing in 2025
Annual National Conference, inc. educational panels and presentations, performances of new works, competitions (held in Boston, Jan 2026). 401 attendees.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 68% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 63
- Sustainability: 61
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.3%; rating input score 60
- Program expense ratio: 75.8%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 21.2%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.34; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -17.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 60.3% of revenue deployed · 75.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $134K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $18K · 20 people listed
- Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.