Get Your Sleuth On With The Orchestra Financial Reports

In the wake of the Orchestra Compensation Reports, it’s good to take a step back and realize all the raw information is available to anyone. All that’s required is to locate and download an orchestra’s IRS form 990. Fortunately, we have a resource to make that first tedious step one-click simple: the Orchestra Financial Reports portal.

Adaptistration People 133The resource page provides direct links to the respective GuideStar.org page for each orchestra included in the compensation reports (plus a few extra). Once there, logged in users (basic accounts are free) can view and download the 990.

Over the weekend, I took the time to verify each of the links are active (here’s a great tool to help you with that task) so you should be able to find and access an orchestra’s info in a matter of seconds.

Visit The Orchestra Financial Reports Page

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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