Scottsdale Philharmonic Inc C/o Joy Partridge

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454921610
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2015
Location
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Phone
4809902727
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$370,060
Expenses
$333,596
Assets
$21,110
Liabilities
$119,032

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOY PARTRIDGE CPA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PRESID)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOY PARTRIDGE CPA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PRESID): $37,000 total reported compensation
  • CARL REITER (MUSIC DIRECTOR, VICE PRESI): $37,000 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT DOENGES (DIRECTOR): $600 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Scottsdale philharmonic's mission is to make live classical music accessible to all while building a thriving symphony that enriches our community, keeps the arts alive, and ensures the power of orchestral music continues to inspire future generations.

What it reported doing in 2025

Scottsdale philharmonic is committed to developing the next generation of musicians by providing meaningful educational experiences and performance opportunities that inspire lifelong participation in the arts. During the year, the orchestra featured an eight-year-old pianist performing a complete piano concerto as the soloist, demonstrating its commitment to recognizing and nurturing exceptional young talent. Two high school musicians were selected to perform as full members of the orchestra throughout the concert season, rehearsing and appearing in all eight concerts alongside experienced orchestral musicians, providing them with invaluable real-world performance experience.in addition to these performance opportunities, scottsdale philharmonic welcomed approximately 480 students to its concerts through complimentary admission, helping remove financial barriers and introducing young audiences to the experience of live orchestral music. By investing in both aspiring performers and future audiences, scottsdale philharmonic continues to foster an appreciation for classical music while helping ensure orchestral music remains vibrant and accessible for future generations.

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 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 21
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.4%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 71.5%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.9%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.06; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 5.64; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.5%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.4% of revenue deployed · 71.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 13 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $238K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $37K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.