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Detroit Opera FY2022 filing

Tax-deductible

Detroit, MI501(c)(3)Since 1971Arts & Culture EIN 38-2052726Revenue $20.6M in FY2022

On file with the IRSmichiganopera.org1526 Broadway St, 48226-2115 · Detroit, MITax-exempt since Sep 1968Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Detroit opera's mission is to present groundbreaking, globally recognized Opera, dance, and musical theater; expand access to the arts through community engagement; cultivate emerging artists and young audiences through education and training; and sustain a permanent home for the performing arts through the preservation and operation of the historic Detroit Opera house.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
62¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$855K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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FY2022 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $1.2M a year · 8% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
62%
of spending
Worth a look: 62% of spending went to programs; under 65%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$855K
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.6 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $62K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$9.1M
18% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 18% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
45
of 46 voting members
Looks good: 45 of 46 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$20.6M
+125% vs prior year
Spent
$18.2M
To programs
62%
Net assets
$42.5M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$20.6M
FY2022▲ +125%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$12.5M
FY2021$9.2M
FY2022$20.6M
FY2023$20.8M
FY2024$17.0M
FY2025$15.4M
Expenses
$18.2M
FY2022▲ +104%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$14.2M
FY2021$8.9M
FY2022$18.2M
FY2023$21.0M
FY2024$19.5M
FY2025$21.0M
Net assets
$42.5M
FY2022▲ +5%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$40.1M
FY2021$40.5M
FY2022$42.5M
FY2023$42.5M
FY2024$40.2M
FY2025$34.6M

From the FY2022 Form 990 (year ending June 2022) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2022 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Sep 1968.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

62 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 62% · $11.3M Management & general 34% · $6.1M Fundraising 4% · $743K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

50 people listed on the 990; $855K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2021); the FY2022 filing did not itemize Part VII
Wayne S Brown
President and CEO
$246,637Pt VII · Sec A
Yuval Sharon
Artistic Director
$202,946Pt VII · Sec A
Patricia Walker
Chief Administrative Offic
$171,843Pt VII · Sec A
David Osborne
SR. Director of Production
$128,787Pt VII · Sec A
Christine Holloway
Associate Artistic Director
$104,530Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Robert Brown
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Ms Patty Isacson Sabee’s $398K as President & CEO (see Schedule O) is at the 64th percentile of top reported officer pay among 749 $10–100M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Ms Patty Isacson Sabee$398,443—————
Wayne S Brown——$251,500$246,637$226,369$305,448
Wayne Brown$147,981$256,308————
Yuval Sharon$225,764$219,504$210,877$202,946——
Patty Isacson Sabee—$200,000————
Patricia Walker—$156,918$173,142$171,843$144,288$162,909
Christine Holloway$170,864$156,878$153,936$104,530——
Julie Kim——$170,031———

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Produces main-stage opera, ballet, and musical theater performances while providing cultural outreach programs to enrich Detroit and the state of Michigan.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $11.3M · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Main stage opera and ballet, musical theater performances and local outreach programs.

$11.3Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
CulturesourceFY2025$36K
Ruth F Rattner and the Ann F and Norman D Katz Charitable FoundatioFY2025$25K
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$62K

By the numbers

The FY2022 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$20.6M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$13.5M
Other incomeLn 4–11$5.0M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.8M
Money outPt IX
$18.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$11.3M
Managementcol C$6.1M
Fundraisingcol D$743K
Owns and owesPt X
$42.5M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.4M
Total assetsLn 16$51.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$9.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
50
listed · VII A
PaidVII A5
Voting boardVI 1a46
IndependentVI 1b45
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$13.5M
Government grantsLn 1e$4.5M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.8M
Investment incomeLn 3$334K
Other incomeLn 4–11$5.0M
Gains on assetsLn 7$308K
Total revenueLn 12$20.6M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$2.4M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$2.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.7M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$42.8M
Other assetsLn 15$197K
Total assetsLn 16$51.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$9.1M
Net assetsLn 32$42.5M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5627
VolunteersI 6430
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY22End FY22
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.2M$2.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.1M$1.7M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$38.7M$42.8M
Total assetsLn 16$46.8M$51.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$6.3M$9.1M
Net assetsLn 32$40.5M$42.5M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$592K$236K$331K$26K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$5.7M$2.9M$2.4M$376K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$854K$496K$308K$50K
Payroll taxesLn 10$439K$219K$191K$29K
Legal feesLn 11b$41K$20K$18K$3K
Accounting feesLn 11c$395K$197K$173K$25K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$1.4M$609K$772K$21K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$631K$405K$186K$40K
Office expensesLn 13$698K$327K$286K$85K
OccupancyLn 16$1.4M$883K$455K$88K
InterestLn 20$182K$182K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$1.9M$1.9M$62K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$3.9M$3.1M$721K$0
All other expensesLn 24e$47K$11K$34K$2K
Total functional expensesLn 25$18.2M$11.3M$6.1M$743K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $15.4M$21.0M−$5.6M$34.6M 990 PDF
FY2024 $17.0M$19.5M−$2.5M$40.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 $20.8M$21.0M−$220K$42.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 Viewing $20.6M$18.2M$2.4M$42.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $9.2M$8.9M$268K$40.5M 990 PDF
FY2020 $12.5M$14.2M−$1.7M$40.1M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $20,610,976 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $6,300,142$13,473,002
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $154,513$1,840,921
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $22,183$333,759
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $2,701,194$4,963,294
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $9,178,032$20,610,976
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $3,289,722$7,562,118
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $5,620,056$10,615,538
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $8,909,778$18,177,656
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $268,254$2,433,320
Part VI · Governance 45 of 46 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body46
VI-1b Independent voting members45
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $20,610,976 across 9 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $378,797 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$4,500,912
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$8,972,090
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$13,473,002
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $1,840,921$1,840,921
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $25,261$25,261
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $308,498$308,498
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$179,262−$179,262
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $2,044,804 · Unrelated business $1,912,282 · Excluded from tax $806,673$4,763,759
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $4,264,522 · Unrelated business $1,912,282 · Excluded from tax $961,170$20,610,976
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $18,177,656 across 14 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $235,665 · Management $330,649 · Fundraising $25,749$592,063
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $2,886,888 · Management $2,414,256 · Fundraising $376,233$5,677,377
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $495,823 · Management $308,105 · Fundraising $49,857$853,785
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $218,529 · Management $191,477 · Fundraising $28,887$438,893
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $20,429 · Management $17,900 · Fundraising $2,555$40,884
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $197,414 · Management $172,976 · Fundraising $24,692$395,082
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $608,756 · Management $771,602 · Fundraising $20,748$1,401,106
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $404,759 · Management $185,887 · Fundraising $40,329$630,975
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $326,910 · Management $286,408 · Fundraising $84,612$697,930
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $882,937 · Management $454,774 · Fundraising $87,906$1,425,617
IX-20 InterestManagement $182,488$182,488
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $1,863,547 · Management $62,154$1,925,701
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $3,147,828 · Management $721,393 · Fundraising $0$3,869,221
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $10,875 · Management $33,848 · Fundraising $1,811$46,534
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $11,300,360 · Management $6,133,917 · Fundraising $743,379$18,177,656
Part X · Balance sheet $51,625,944 assets, 16 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $2,220,249$2,442,945
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $2,859,234$3,224,593
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $813,709$893,020
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $154,067$311,458
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $38,713,199$42,839,244
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $2,051,835$1,717,798
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $0$196,886
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $46,812,293$51,625,944
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $404,245$1,819,970
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $787,204$2,838,127
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,209,748$624,201
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $6,335,032$9,131,661
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $30,290,206$29,250,130
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $10,187,055$13,244,153
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $40,477,261$42,494,283
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $46,812,293$51,625,944
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $42,494,283 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$20,610,976
XI-2 Total expenses$18,177,656
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$2,433,320
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$40,477,261
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$416,298
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$42,494,283

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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