Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237287150
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Costa Mesa, CA, US
Phone
(714) 556-2787
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$105,979,936
Expenses
$91,412,190
Assets
$558,175,328
Liabilities
$182,951,711

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

Leadership & pay

48 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Casey Reitz (President/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Casey Reitz (President/CEO): $671,393 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN FINCK (EVP CFO): $495,146 total reported compensation
  • Lisa Middleton (VP MARKETING/COMM): $331,044 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 inspire, have fun, connect with friends and make new ones—through exhilarating performances, innovative education programs, and uplifting community experiences that bring all of Orange County together.

What it reported doing in 2024

Center presentations segerstrom center for the arts is one of the nation's premier arts organizations. It is a unique achievement of community vision, initiative, artistic accomplishment and generosity known for its stunning architecture and technical facilities, impeccable acoustics and the exceptional quality of the companies and artists who perform here. The center, orange county's largest non-profit arts organization, offers the world's leading dance companies, broadway shows, award-winning classical, jazz and cabaret artists, family entertainment, special events and year-round educational programs. The center encompasses the 3,000-seat opera house style segerstrom hall, the 2,000-seat renee and henry segerstrom concert hall, the 500-seat multi-functional samueli theater, 250-seat judy morr theatre and 46,000-square-foot julianne and george argyros plaza. The education center includes the studio performance space and boeing education lab as well as the offices for the center's education department. Other amenities include two private donor rooms, george's cafe and the elegant leatherby's cafe rouge. The performance venues all feature artist amenities, including dressing rooms, artist lounges, practice suites and rehearsal studios.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.8%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 73.8%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.6%; rating input score 98; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 13.7%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.11; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 80.8% of revenue deployed · 73.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 41 of 42 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $67.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $671K · 48 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $17.3M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.