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
74 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
32 people listed on the 990; $487K 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 produces three fully staged grand operas at the ellie caulkins opera house for audiences in greater denver and the rocky mountain region at large. This program serves over 20,000 patrons per year.
Opera colorado annually server over 40,000 students of all ages through education and community engagemnt programs in greater denver and the rocky mountain region at large. A major piece of the company's education program is its artist in residence program.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2022 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY22 | End FY22 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $763K | $983K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $898K | $857K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $714K | $746K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.2M | $4.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.5M | $1.7M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $2.7M | $2.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $222K | $178K | $34K | $11K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $3.2M | $2.6M | $491K | $153K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $30K | $24K | $5K | $1K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $209K | $167K | $32K | $10K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $228K | $183K | $35K | $11K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $26K | $26K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $114K | $43K | $43K | $28K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $286K | $70K | $214K | $2K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $299K | $268K | $10K | $21K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $45K | $17K | $17K | $11K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $273K | $185K | $35K | $52K |
| TravelLn 17 | $314K | $295K | $8K | $11K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $33K | $33K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $168K | $64K | $55K | $49K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $730K | $638K | $41K | $51K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $183K | $3K | $123K | $56K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $6.4M | $4.7M | $1.2M | $466K |
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 Viewing | $6.3M | $6.4M | −$63K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $3.9M | $2.7M | $1.2M | $2.7M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2022 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $6,329,194 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 28 of 28 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $6,329,194 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $6,391,866 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $4,277,559 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,567,433 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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