GOLD2023

Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association

aka CSO   |   Chattanooga, TN   |  www.chattanoogasymphony.org

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Mission

The mission of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera is to inspire, engage, and enrich the greater Chattanooga community through music and music education.

Ruling year info

1951

Executive Director

Mr. John Kilkenny

Music Director

Kayoko Dan

Main address

736 Georgia Ave STE 101

Chattanooga, TN 37402 USA

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EIN

62-6002098

NTEE code info

Symphony Orchestras (A69)

Opera (A6A)

Music (A68)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2020.
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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The CSO aims to keep orchestral music alive and relevant in this ever-changing environment. Our robust music education programs helps teach basic music knowledge and provides performances to students through our Ensembles in the Schools programs. Our Youth Orchestra program engages over 200 youths in classical music and instrumental performance.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

General Music Programming

The CSO offers a Masterworks (Classical) Series, Pops Series, Chamber Series, Family Concerts, Special Events, and a Grand Opera (every two years).

Population(s) Served
Adults

Our Ensembles in Schools program sends our String Quintet or Wind Quintet to elementary, middle, and high schools in a 12-county region. These performances are free to schools and are available upon request. The CSO performs approximately 65 times each season in this program.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

This free four-concert series is geared towards families who have children with atypical developments, but is open to all. Our String or Wind Quintet performs a child-friendly 50-minute program, where children are encouraged to move or dance along with the music. Manipulatives, such as scarves and shakers, are available for children to use.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
People with disabilities

Where we work

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

We hope to diversify our audiences, our guest artists, our board, and those we serve. We hope to have a larger reach into more communities surrounding Hamilton County with performance and education opportunities.

We are making conscious efforts to consider and hire more guest artists of color. We want to expand our education programs into underserved communities, such as rural locations. We want to ensure that our programming is attractive to a variety of audiences.

We have a strong board of directors and administrative staff, creative and passionate musicians who assist in program development, and communities that are starving for more arts opportunities.

The CSO is participating in Thriving Communities 2.0, in which we will work with communities on developing new arts initiatives. Our artistic staff are committed to hiring guest artists of color. Our five-year financial projection model is allowing us to know what programs we can expand or introduce over the coming years.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time

Financials

Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association

Board of directors
as of 09/08/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Don McDowell

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 9/8/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Asian/Asian American
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/08/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.