Pacific Opera Project
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 453321212
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015, Form 990-N 2012
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3237396122
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,640,869
- Expenses
- $1,024,164
- Assets
- $1,603,494
- Liabilities
- $713,566
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOSH SHAW (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CEO)
- BRUCE MERRITT (PRESIDENT)
- ROB WEBB (VICE-PRESIDENT)
- KATHERINE POWERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- KATHERINE POWERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $91,450 total reported compensation
- JOSH SHAW (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CEO): $88,950 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Pacific opera project's mission is to reimagine opera as an affordable adventure by making unforgettable, entertaining performances accessible to all. The organization presents innovative productions and community-based education and engagement programming, primarily in central and northeast los angeles, to expand access to opera and engage diverse audiences.
What it reported doing in 2024
Pacific opera project (pop) presented a season of affordable, innovative opera and education programs serving diverse audiences across los angeles county. In fiscal year 2025, pop presented four mainstage productions to 7,428 patrons and 17 free community engagement events reaching 3343 attendees, and delivered three in-school residency curricula serving 540 students, mainly in title i schools. The organization also launched new initiatives, including cuentos cantados!, a spanish-language residency program, further advancing its mission to make high-quality opera accessible and engaging for all.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 74% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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 available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 47
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 38.6%; rating input score 39
- Program expense ratio: 61.7%; rating input score 62
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd 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: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 24th 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: Fail
- 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: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 37.6%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.57; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17.6%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 38.8% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 38.6% of revenue deployed · 61.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $632K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.