PLATINUM2022

Pacific Chamber Orchestra

Artistry Passionately Shared

Livermore, CA   |  https://www.pacificchamberorchestra.org

Mission

Pacific Chamber Orchestra, now in its 33rd season, is a regional professional ensemble dedicated to sustaining and extending the rich heritage of classical music for a chamber orchestra of 8 to 42 musicians through inspiring performances and engaging educational programs. For classical music enthusiasts, The Pacific Chamber Orchestra (PCO) is the premier professional ensemble that gives the most exquisite concert experience due to the artistry of the conductor and musicians, the engaging repertoire and versatility of the chamber orchestra, performed in intimate and conveniently located venues. PCO is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the organization and in audience reach.

Ruling year info

1995

Principal Officer

Lawrence Kohl

Main address

PO BOX 3134

Livermore, CA 94551 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

94-3105631

NTEE code info

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 2020, 2019 and 2018.
Register now

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

This profile needs more info.

If it is your nonprofit, add a problem overview.

Login and update

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?

Educational Programs

Educational programs include elementary in-school assemblies that introduce and teach basic music fundamentals, clinics for middle and high school students, and full orchestra school day matinée performances. Education programs serve Livermore, Pleasanton, Hayward and Orinda.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Multiracial people
Families
Low-income people
Extremely poor people

The musicians of PCO, under the direction of founding Music Director Lawrence Kohl, have performed in the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, Ballet, Theater Orchestras, and at Skywalker Sound Studios. PCO musicians are recording artists, tour internationally in chamber music groups and make guest appearances as concerto soloists. PCO is a resident company of Livermore’s Bankhead Theater and also performs in Lafayette. Four sets of main concerts are performed each season.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Families
Parents
Retired people

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of grants and research funding awarded to the institution

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Children, Adolescents, Families, Low-income people

Related Program

Educational Programs

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

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.

The Board of Directors and administrative staff have identified five primary strategies and goals for the period of 2020-2022. Each of these goals is detailed briefly in the sections below with corresponding strategies, activities and metrics.
Concerts & Education Programs – Create inspiring performances and educational programs designed to enrich and engage our local communities
Marketing Goal – Find classical music enthusiasts and encourage them to come again and again
Development Goal – Maximize contributions and grants to support artistic programs
Stability and Growth Goal – Develop a robust infrastructure that leads to sustainability and growth of the organization
Friends of PCO Goal - Develop a dedicated volunteer group to organize fundraising and social events and to support administration in marketing, operations and other efforts

Concerts & Education Programs Goal – Create inspiring performances and engaging educational programs designed to enrich our local communities.
Our programming is divided into two components: 1) a series of concert performances in two cities, and 2) a suite of education programs in a variety of schools and districts. We create distinct strategies, activities and metrics for each of these components.
Concert Performances Strategies
1. Continue to produce outstanding concerts in two cities (Livermore and Lafayette)
2. Develop criteria for adding another city in the future that includes diversified funding sources
3. Consider “run out” concerts when incremental costs can be covered 2 & 3 suspended.
1. Expand education programs including quintet assemblies, strong clinics, and full orchestra matinees Suspended: it is unsure when live in-school educational program may resume, perhaps if vaccines reach elementary age children in the fall, spring 2022 may be possible. Schools may decide however that school time is so limited that there will not be room for assemblies until the following school year – grant awards from the cities of Pleasanton and Hayward for such may not be able to accepted if the programs do not take place
2. Explore serving additional schools/districts with stable funding sources Not explored yet.
Education Program Activities and Metrics
1. Grow Quintet Assembly Programs in current schools and districts (Livermore, Pleasanton, Hayward, Orinda) from 18 per year to 24 per year by securing increased funding. When considering new elementary schools, target Title 1 Schools as a priority. Suspended: goal would have been achieved with funding from new grants.
2. Continue to offer one full Orchestra Matinee Performance annually for middle and high school students in Pleasanton. Investigate adding second performance with appropriate funding. Suspended.
3. Expand Clinics to place orchestra musicians in local middle and high schools’ orchestras and/ or wind ensembles for group training. Suspended.
Marketing Goal – find classical music enthusiasts and get them to come again and again
Marketing Strategies
1. Increase awareness of PCO programs through social media platforms and local news media to continue to grow audiences
2. Identify and engage key influencers to grow audiences and increase ticket sales by 3% annually Influencers beyond the schools not identified.
3. Develop engagement opportunities with ambassadors to local high school and college music programs
Development Goal – Maximize contributions and grants to support artistic programs
1. Increase Board and individual giving as three major foundations and donors are sunsetting support of PCO due to changing priorities
2. Explore grantmaking and institutional giving opportunities including government (city, county, state), local businesses and corporations
3. Initiate planned giving/legacy donor circle to create board designated endowment or other long-term capitalization fund

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 demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    We serve Alameda and Contra Costa counties focusing in the cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, Hayward, and Orinda when it comes to educational programs for elementary, middle school, and high school students, as well as reaching out to all ages, races, income levels, ethnicities, religious affiliations, and sexual orientations to achieve optimal cultural diversity in our programming and audiences

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

    Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person),

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

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    We established a Dream American program in 2021 for emerging composers of new works to provide opportunity for these artists with avenue to express their cultural heritage and unique perspective under the direction of experienced mentors.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    Asking for feedback from concert goers as well as attendees (teachers parents and students) if our free in school assemblies allows us to cater our content and focus to needs and wants of communities we serve

  • 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 tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, 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

Pacific Chamber Orchestra
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our 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.

Operations

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

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.

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.

Pacific Chamber Orchestra

Board of directors
as of 11/08/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Pamela Philbert

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 3/15/2022
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

No data

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 03/15/2022

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.