Sarasota Opera Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237089047
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Sarasota, FL, USA
- Phone
- 9413668450
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,304,896
- Expenses
- $10,554,868
- Assets
- $36,969,853
- Liabilities
- $8,069,205
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
31 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- RICHARD RUSSELL (GENERAL DIRECTOR): $335,807 total reported compensation
- KENNETH TARASI (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $127,413 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Sarasota Opera produces impassioned opera performances true to the vision of the composer, to entertain, enrich, educate, and inspire a life-long love of opera in our diverse and growing communities.
What it reported doing in 2024
In the Fall of 2024, the Opera presented two performances of Giuseppe Verdi's music to nearly sold out houses, while our Youth Opera program, with it's growing participation, presented two performances of The Hobbit. The Winter Festival consisted of thirty-three performances, two more than the previous year. Four different operas were presented in front of over 28,000 patrons. In addition to these live main stage performances, the Opera continued its presentation of classic and classical HD movies. Community outreach events, in-school programs and teacher workshops continued to expand. The Opera's two guild organizations are growing and creating additional fundraising events and activities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 73% 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.
- 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: 58
- Transparency & Controls: 96
- Accountability: 98
- Sustainability: 79
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 50.2%; rating input score 50
- Program expense ratio: 74.2%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $15.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th 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: 96.7%; rating input score 97; 30th 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: 35.3%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.5; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 50.2% of revenue deployed · 74.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 29 of 30 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $336K · 31 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 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: 2 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 50/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.