Seattle Opera

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
910760426
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2063897600
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$22,169,865
Expenses
$25,284,095
Assets
$69,991,033
Liabilities
$11,582,451

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

Leadership & pay

62 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LESLEY CHAPIN WYCKOFF (PRESIDENT)
  • JONATHAN ROSOFF (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • BRIAN MARKS (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • JOSHUA RODRIGUEZ (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JASON BERGEVIN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • BRENDA BRUNS (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTINA SCHEPPELMANN (GENERAL DIRECTOR UNTIL 10/31/24): $304,409 total reported compensation
  • KRISTINA MURTI (DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS): $179,491 total reported compensation
  • DOUGLAS PROVOST (DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION UNTIL 11/20/24): $179,233 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To thrill, inspire and educate through the shared experience of opera. Seattle opera is vital to the dynamic cultural and civic life of our region and to the evolution of opera across the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

During seattle opera's 2024/25 season, the company witnessed continued growth of in-person attendence at mccaw hall, tagney jones hall, and other venues. The company increased the number of performances significantly from the prior season (32 vs 24), especially for blockbuster shows like the magic flute, tosca, and pagliacci. We sold more single tickets than any season in our history and sold as many tickets per performance (~2,000 on average) as we did in the last year before covid. The season featured four mainstage operas, among them all-time favorites like "pagliacci", "the magic flute", and "tosca", a world premiere "jubilee", and a concert opera of "les troyens" featuring the 60-member seattle opera chorus and the 80-member seattle symphony orhcestra.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - 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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.77; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 46 of 46 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $19.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $304K · 62 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $784K reported
  • Consistency: 47 of 47 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.