Waco Symphony Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
746062658
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Waco, TX, USA
Phone
2547541035
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,481,412
Expenses
$1,296,289
Assets
$891,936
Liabilities
$204,293

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

Leadership & pay

47 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DIANNE SAWYER (PRESIDENT)
  • LIZ STANSBURY (PRESIDENT-ELECT/VP SPONSORSHIP)
  • HARRY HARELIK (PRESIDENT, WACO SYM FDN)
  • NANCY LIVINGSTON (PRESIDENT, FINANCE)
  • LIZ AREND (COUNCIL PRESIDENT)
  • CAROLYN BESS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAROLYN BESS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $132,527 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Waco symphony association's mission is to present live classical music that will enrich the cultural life of our community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Concerts - the 62nd season themed "new frontiers" for the waco symphony orchestra marked the first full season under the artistic leadership of music director / conductor lawrence loh. It featured four classical concerts with soloists including pianist orli shaham on rhapsody in blue, cliburn gold medal-winning pianist jon nakamatsu playing rachmaninoff's piano concerto no. 2, violin superstar ray chen playing tchaikovsky's violin concerto, and clarinetist anthony mcgill and organist bradley hunter welch featured on saint-saens' symphony no. 3. Ballet frontier of Texas collaborated with wso and local student dancers on the nutcracker. We presented our first full feature film in concert, jurassic park in concert. Waco symphony youth orchestra presented two free concerts under the leadership of maestro beau benson, who resigned after 11 successful seasons to take a new role at pepperdine university.the wsa provides an internship for undergrad or graduate students majoring in music performance, which affords them an opportunity to perform with the waco symphony orchestra. In addition to the opportunity to perform with a professional orchestra through the internship, students are awarded a scholarship for their college education. There were 19 waco symphony orchestra interns performing at various times during the season.

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 98% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.4%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.5%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.4% of revenue deployed · 79.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 46 of 46 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $133K · 47 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.