Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1981.
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
28 people listed on the 990; $503K paid to officers and key staff.
Ari Pelto’s $183K as Music Direct is at the 79th 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gregory Carpenter | — | $170,283 | $216,015 | $210,634 | $167,825 |
| Ari Pelto | $182,650 | $163,252 | $174,227 | $157,560 | $104,045 |
| Greg Carpenter | $180,173 | — | — | — | — |
| Erin Wenzel | $127,955 | $118,098 | $124,325 | $118,971 | $112,444 |
| Paul Deckard | — | — | — | — | $118,555 |
| Jennifer Colgan | $117,945 | $109,643 | $108,898 | — | — |
| Tom Kirkpatrick | $112,806 | $97,462 | $110,000 | — | — |
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
Strengthens opera's artistic vision and community engagement through education and collaboration.
Questions for Opera Colorado
Your first name shows with your question. Opera Colorado answers here, for everyone.
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Opera colorado created oc amplified, an innovative new series for community engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series featured both in-person and digital performances designed to expand audience and raise voices with the opera colorado community. The program served approximatley 2,000 people during the year.
Opera colorado adapted its education programs for digital presentation this year for its opera on tour and storytime session programs. It also added a digital brain breaks series. All programs were available to families, teachers, and students online and offered reduced or free access.
During 2020-2021 season, opera colorado's fully staged grand operas were cancelled or postponed until a future date due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Expenses incurred were related to obligations the company was unable to move to a future period.
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 | $435K | $763K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $898K | |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $830K | $714K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $2.8M | $4.2M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.4M | $1.5M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.5M | $2.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $304K | $157K | $102K | $44K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.2M | $599K | $390K | $167K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $31K | $16K | $10K | $4K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $88K | $46K | $30K | $13K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $170K | $88K | $57K | $25K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $28K | $28K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $165K | $138K | $27K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $33K | $24K | $6K | $4K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $252K | $167K | $34K | $51K |
| TravelLn 17 | $88K | $77K | $6K | $5K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $144K | $65K | $30K | $49K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $27K | $27K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $132K | $71K | $22K | $39K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $75K | $21K | $54K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.7M | $1.5M | $796K | $428K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $5.0M | $6.0M | −$1.0M | −$874K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $6.0M | $6.8M | −$866K | $131K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $5.6M | $7.1M | −$1.6M | $994K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $6.3M | $6.4M | −$63K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $3.9M | $2.7M | $1.2M | $2.7M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $3,925,553 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 24 of 24 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $3,925,553 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,692,280 across 14 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $4,199,479 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,684,218 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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