The Atlanta Opera Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 581371843
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Atlanta, GA, USA
- Phone
- 4048818801
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $52,412,526
- Expenses
- $17,804,763
- Assets
- $80,841,023
- Liabilities
- $6,139,120
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
49 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- TOMER ZVULUN (GENERAL & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR): $582,521 total reported compensation
- MICAH FORTSON (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $279,074 total reported compensation
- JONATHAN BLALOCK (DIR OF ADVANCEMENT REVENUE): $158,245 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 atlanta opera, established in 1979, reimagines opera for a global audience. Rooted in atlanta's vibrant cultural landscape, we push artistic boundaries to deliver extraordinary experiences, solidifying our position as a dynamic force in the world or opera.
What it reported doing in 2024
EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT: Reaching over 120,000 students across the Southeast, our Studio Tour offers impactful in-school performances and unique field trip experiences to final dress rehearsals. We strengthen community ties through engaging pre-show talks, stimulating panel discussions, and exciting pop-up concerts. Founded in 2022, our 96-Hour Opera Festival creates vital platforms for emerging composers and librettists fostering their career development
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% 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
SUPPORTED - Most voting board members are independent and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 51
- Transparency & Controls: 54
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 81
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 29.3%; rating input score 29
- Program expense ratio: 82.3%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $40.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 66%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.54; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 29.3% of revenue deployed · 82.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 42 of 42 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $14.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $583K · 49 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.1M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 29/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.