The Jackson Symphony enriches and inspires audiences through the power of live orchestral music.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
59¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$83K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · 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
5 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $138K a year · 11% of revenue · last 5 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 5 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
59%
of spending
Worth a look: 59% of spending went to programs; under 65%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$83K
to officers and key staff · 10% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 10% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.9 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
5
named funders · $351K
Looks good: 5 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$199K
38% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 38% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
30
of 30 voting members
Looks good: 30 of 30 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$996K
+13% vs prior year
Spent
$792K
To programs
59%
Net assets
$331K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$996K
FY2021▲ +13%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$884K
FY2021$996K
FY2023$1.5M
FY2024$1.3M
FY2025$1.7M
Expenses
$792K
FY2021▼ -0.7%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$797K
FY2021$792K
FY2023$1.2M
FY2024$1.3M
FY2025$1.6M
Net assets
$331K
FY2021▲ +162%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$126K
FY2021$331K
FY2023$805K
FY2024$862K
FY2025$943K

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim
You’re viewing the FY2021 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 Feb 1969.

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

Where the money goes

59 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 59% · $470K Management & general 33% · $258K Fundraising 8% · $64K

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

31 people listed on the 990; $83K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Di
$82,580Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President El
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Finance Chai
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Develop. Cha
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sherry Freeman’s $113K as Executive Director is at the 42nd 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2021FY2020
Sherry Freeman$112,600$103,900$95,570$82,580$73,524

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 Jackson Symphony Association executive salaries →

On this list? Claim this org

Something off? Claim to add context

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

Enriches and inspires audiences with live orchestral music performances.

Questions for Jackson Symphony Association

Tap to ask. Jackson Symphony Association sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Jackson Symphony Association answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this org? Add your story

3 programs · $470K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Symphony concerts for the benefit of all citizens in jackson and madison county

$449Kprogram expense
02

Education opportunities for youth and adults of community

$16Kprogram expense
03

Integrative medicine programming that provides live music for the health benefit of patients receiving treatments in the cancer center and confined to the hospital.

$5Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 5 funders →
Grants paid · 1 grant · $5K · 2024–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$5,399

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$996K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$629K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$367K
Money outPt IX
$792K
Ln 25
Programscol B$470K
Managementcol C$258K
Fundraisingcol D$64K
Owns and owesPt X
$331K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$458K
Total assetsLn 16$530K
LiabilitiesLn 26$199K
PeoplePt VI, VII
31
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a30
IndependentVI 1b30
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$629K
Government grantsLn 1e$118K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$367K
Total revenueLn 12$996K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$458K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$458K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$25K
Total assetsLn 16$530K
LiabilitiesLn 26$199K
Net assetsLn 32$331K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 57
VolunteersI 6115
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$236K$458K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$15K$25K
Total assetsLn 16$256K$530K
LiabilitiesLn 26$130K$199K
Net assetsLn 32$126K$331K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$75K$8K$38K$30K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$250K$173K$51K$26K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$23K$17K$6K
Payroll taxesLn 10$26K$15K$5K$5K
Accounting feesLn 11c$25K$25K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$135K$135K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$61K$1K$60K
Office expensesLn 13$35K$13K$22K−$315
RoyaltiesLn 15$3K$3K
OccupancyLn 16$23K$1K$21K
TravelLn 17$27K$27K$73
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$5K$5K
InsuranceLn 23$11K$11K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$68K$68K$195$24
All other expensesLn 24e$25K$8K$14K$3K
Total functional expensesLn 25$792K$470K$258K$64K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $1.7M$1.6M$58K$943K 990 PDF
FY2024 $1.3M$1.3M$15K$862K 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.5M$1.2M$326K$805K 990 PDF
FY2022 Not on file
FY2021 Viewing $996K$792K$204K$331K 990 PDF
FY2020 $884K$797K$87K$126K 990 PDF

More to add? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $996,193 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $542,111$629,263
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $341,481$366,930
I-10 Investment income$0
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $883,592$996,193
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $346,858$373,761
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $450,065$417,979
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $796,923$791,740
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $86,669$204,453
Part VI · Governance 30 of 30 board members independent, 3 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body30
VI-1b Independent voting members30
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $996,193 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$118,232
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$511,031
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$629,263
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $366,930$366,930
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $366,930$996,193
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $791,740 across 15 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $7,500 · Management $37,500 · Fundraising $30,000$75,000
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $172,872 · Management $51,382 · Fundraising $25,742$249,996
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $16,600 · Management $6,444$23,044
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $15,369 · Management $5,139 · Fundraising $5,213$25,721
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $24,685$24,685
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $134,966$134,966
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,295 · Management $59,940$61,235
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $13,337 · Management $22,070 · Fundraising −$315$35,092
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $3,313$3,313
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $1,497 · Management $21,488$22,985
IX-17 TravelPrograms $27,168 · Management $73$27,241
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $4,783$4,783
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $10,538$10,538
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $68,139 · Management $195 · Fundraising $24$68,358
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $7,764 · Management $13,560 · Fundraising $3,459$24,783
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $469,820 · Management $257,797 · Fundraising $64,123$791,740
Part X · Balance sheet $529,948 assets, 13 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $235,568$457,944
X-4 Accounts receivable$46,850
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $5,698$340
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $15,048$24,814
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $256,314$529,948
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $645$5,156
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $65,305$129,975
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $64,120$64,120
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $130,070$199,251
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $113,432$295,242
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $12,812$35,455
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $126,244$330,697
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $256,314$529,948
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $330,697 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$996,193
XI-2 Total expenses$791,740
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$204,453
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$126,244
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$330,697

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

Your org? Add context

Made it to the end? Claim this org

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.