Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
430821958
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
St Louis, MO, USA
Phone
3149610171
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$34,927,077
Expenses
$14,408,506
Assets
$131,146,403
Liabilities
$2,027,915

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

Leadership & pay

62 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREW JORGENSEN (GENERAL DIRECTOR): $298,251 total reported compensation
  • NICOLE AMBOS FREBER (MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT): $239,261 total reported compensation
  • STEPHEN M RYAN (DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS): $169,503 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Opera theatre's mission is to shape a vibrant future for opera by connecting, inspiring, and entertaining our communities through the power and beauty of the art form; to foster the next generation by empowering a diverse group of artists, artisans, and administrators at the highest level; and to make opera accessible and inclusive through innovative and collaborative storytelling that reflects, engages, and strengthens the st. Louis community and attracts national and international audiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

The 2025 festival season was otsl's 50th, and included four brand new productions, including strauss's die fledermaus, donizetti's don pasquale, britten's a midsummer nights dream, and the world premiere of this house by composer ricky ian gordon and librettists lynn nottage and ruby aiyo gerber. In addition, the season featured two concerts, center stage and our songs. The main stage performances featured early career singers in chorus, feature, and principal roles alongside established performers in productions led by world renowned conductors, stage directors, and designers. The st. Louis symphony orchestra accompanies all performances. Sets, props, costumes, and lighting are created locally by professional technicians and craftspeople. The 27 performances saw 14,490 tickets sold, and 2,253 given away as part of the phyllis' seats initiative to bring new people to opera. Attendees came from across the region, country, and globe.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.7%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 73.2%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 58.7%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.1; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.7% of revenue deployed · 73.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 54 of 54 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $10.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $298K · 62 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.