New York Philharmonic

Legal name: The Philharmonic Symphony Society of Ny Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131664054
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
New York, NY, US
Phone
(212) 875-5381
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$101,338,288
Expenses
$99,029,073
Assets
$604,435,281
Liabilities
$81,699,980

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

Leadership & pay

72 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MATIAS TARNOPOLSKY (PRESIDENT & CEO (START 01/25))
  • GARY GINSTLING (FORMER PRESIDENT & CEO (THRU 08/24))
  • ADAM GERDTS (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PHILANTHROPY)

Highest reported compensation

  • GARY GINSTLING (FORMER PRESIDENT & CEO (THRU 08/24)): $974,954 total reported compensation
  • FRANK HUANG (CONCERTMASTER): $711,964 total reported compensation
  • DEBORAH BORDA (EXECUTIVE ADVISOR): $656,873 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 New York Philharmonic connects people with music through performances, education, and community programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education and community engagement: the New York philharmonic offers a range of education programs for students, educators, and families:- teacher seminars: professional development workshops for music and non-music teachers that explore musical concepts and philharmonic repertoire, paired with attendance at live performances. - school partnerships: multi-year collaborations with New York city public schools that support music learning for students, teachers, and families through classroom instruction, workshops, (cont. On sch. O) and engagement with philharmonic teaching artists. - open rehearsals: invitations for school groups and supporters to observe the rehearsal process and gain insight into the orchestra's work. - young people's concerts: programs introducing young audiences to orchestral music through live performances, interactive pre-concert activities, and educational materials. During the season, four concerts served 2,656 attendees. - very young people's concerts: concerts designed for preschool-aged children, engaging 9,342 attendees across six performances this season.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% 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 - 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: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.5%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 65.4%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: 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: 98.3%; rating input score 98; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.1; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 10 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 11 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 67.5% of revenue deployed · 65.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 59 of 60 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $64.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $975K · 72 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.5M reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 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: 8 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

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.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.