Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 1959.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
25 people listed on the 990; $375K paid to officers and key staff.
Joseph Giunta’s $278K as Music Director is at the 95th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $1–10M 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 · 5 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Giunta | $277,500 | $255,500 | — | $235,876 | $197,161 | $237,632 |
| Joepsh Giunta | — | — | $244,504 | — | — | — |
| Richard L Early | $156,444 | $150,448 | $143,583 | — | — | $134,888 |
| Richard Early | — | — | — | $139,110 | $134,824 | — |
| Scott Wyckoff | $109,266 | $105,881 | — | — | — | — |
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.
See Des Moines Symphony Association executive salaries →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
Performs orchestral music to enrich, educate, and inspire the community.
Questions for Des Moines Symphony Association
Your first name shows with your question. Des Moines Symphony Association answers here, for everyone.
Concert performancesthe des moines symphony association performs seven pairs of masterworks concerts, as well as education and family concerts, and both a regular season and summer season pops series which draws audience members from throughout iowa.
Music educationthe des moines symphony academy provides an array of programs and opportunities for individual and group instruction, performance, and community involvement for students of all ages.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2022 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY22 | FY21 | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $16.4M | $10.9M | $8.9M | $7.5M | $6.3M |
| Given inLn 1b | $7.5M | $692K | $2.0M | $1.2M | $145K |
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $1.1M | $614K | $932K | $553K | $658K |
| Line | Start FY22 | End FY22 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $975K | $1.0M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $131K | $137K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $12.2M | $19.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $648K | $388K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $11.6M | $18.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $379K | $300K | $46K | $32K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.6M | $1.3M | $196K | $138K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $33K | $19K | $8K | $6K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $167K | $95K | $42K | $30K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $147K | $116K | $19K | $13K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $30K | $30K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $21K | $21K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $115K | $115K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $8K | $3K | $6K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $39K | $2K | $27K | $10K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $71K | $47K | $12K | $12K |
| TravelLn 17 | $23K | $23K | ||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $995 | $995 | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $38K | $38K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $26K | $20K | $7K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $736K | $672K | $56K | $8K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $48K | $6K | $42K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.5M | $2.7M | $530K | $249K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 13, 2026 | $5.1M | $4.0M | $1.1M | $22.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS May 12, 2025 | $3.6M | $4.1M | −$480K | $19.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 7, 2024 | $3.2M | $3.9M | −$782K | $19.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 ViewingFiled with the IRS May 9, 2023 | $5.3M | $3.5M | $1.8M | $18.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS May 16, 2022 | $2.7M | $2.4M | $212K | $11.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS May 17, 2021 | $3.2M | $3.6M | −$390K | $9.4M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $5,286,185 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 23 of 23 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,286,185 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,499,627 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $19,278,487 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $18,890,221 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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