Pittsburgh Opera Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
251073139
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
4122810912
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,466,598
Expenses
$8,699,358
Assets
$34,172,666
Liabilities
$473,310

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

Leadership & pay

51 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • EUGENE WELSH (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTOPHER HAHN (GENERAL DIRECTOR): $333,606 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT RAK (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $183,642 total reported compensation
  • RACHEL KISIC (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $145,813 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 pittsburgh opera, inc. Is to enrich pittsburgh and the tri-state area culturally and to draw national and international attention to the region. This commitment is comprised of four goals: creating opera productions which meet and preserve the highest standards of artistic excellence; conveying the operatic arts in ways that make the art form intellectually and financially accessible to a diverse audience; providing educational opportunities to develop young singers into tomorrow's artists; and ensuring the future of the company through responsible fiscal management today.

What it reported doing in 2024

Pittsburgh opera's strategic impact and engagement department ensures that engagement initiatives, policies, and best practices permeate the organizational demography of the organization and the community we serve. Pittsburgh opera offered 10 trainings, workshops, and guided discussions for staff, performers, and constituents, conducted accountability measures including auditing for best practices and administered staff and board engagement surveys. Strategic impact initiatives are further realized through strategic partnerships and community engagement offerings in order to positively impact those we serve. Further, pittsburgh opera, with the aid of a civic practice grant awarded by opera america, began its first phase of partnerships with the homewood community to engage with and expose the population to opera and elements surrounding this art form. Pittsburgh opera held our annual family day where we saw an increase of 56% to 181 children, teens, and their families participated in four different activities some of the many different components that make up opera: (1) instrument show and tell; (2) voice lessons; (3) dance/movement/choreography; and (4) prop making as well as a professional operatic performance.

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 96% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.3%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 59.9%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 97.7%; rating input score 98; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -16.5%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.93; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.6%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.3% of revenue deployed · 59.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 42 of 43 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $334K · 51 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $152K reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.