Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jan 1957.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
55 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
30 people listed on the 990; $236K paid to officers and key staff.
Shante Williams’s $144K as Director is at the 63rd 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Meena | — | $77,393 | $120,502 | $127,608 | $121,204 | $165,916 |
| Shante Williams | $143,750 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vanessa Thorne | — | — | — | — | $114,958 | — |
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 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Presents operas, operettas, and musical theatre, plus educational programs for diverse communities.
Questions for Opera Carolina
Your first name shows with your question. Opera Carolina answers here, for everyone.
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The primary program service activity is that of main stage productionsand educational activities. Our main stage showcased multipleproductions which fulfilled our exempt purpose of providing accessibility to and developing knowledge of professional opera and elevating the quality of cultural life in the carolinas.
The educational activities include our opera express touring arm which engages over 20,000 children by means of multiple performances across the states of north carolina, south carolina, and georgia; student night at the opera which is held during dress rehearsal for each main stage production and in which students and adults…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $172K | $687K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $163K | $91K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $751K | $1.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $3.5M | $3.6M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | −$2.7M | −$2.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $121K | $85K | $34K | $2K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $648K | $456K | $184K | $8K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $69K | $49K | $20K | $860 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $56K | $40K | $16K | $704 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $11K | $11K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $112K | $48K | $13K | $51K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $61K | $61K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $3K | $609 | $2K | $450 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $10K | $10K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $142K | $78K | $60K | $4K |
| TravelLn 17 | $1K | $1K | ||
| InterestLn 20 | $7K | $195 | $7K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $68K | $56K | $12K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $30K | $30K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $225K | $5K | $146K | $75K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $65K | $16K | $37K | $13K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.6M | $903K | $572K | $156K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | $2.7M | $3.6M | −$871K | −$3.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.9M | $3.3M | −$345K | −$2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $3.1M | $2.9M | $179K | −$2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $1.7M | $1.6M | $96K | −$2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $2.8M | $2.9M | −$115K | −$2.7M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,727,592 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 30 of 30 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,727,592 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,631,545 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,027,140 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$2,615,064 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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