Michigan · Nonprofit
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY (Michigan) receives grants from 36 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,253,973 to it, the largest being THE RICHARD AND HELEN DEVOS FOUNDATION ($10,500,000). 24 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $27M
- Funders on record
- 36
- Grants received
- $16M
- Net assets
- $9.7M
What Grand Rapids Symphony Society does
Mission
To share great music that moves the human soul and to excel at providing distinctive musical experiences, with an emphasis on live orchestral music, for diverse audiences throughout west michigan. The organization fulfills its mission by presenting high-quality orchestral performances, advancing musical education, engaging and developing audiences, and collaborating with educational and community organizations throughout west michigan.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The grand rapids symphony is an integral and indispensable part of the west michigan community. The institution has long been an important part of the community, with musical excellence, diverse programming, collaborative spirit, and a commitment to learning, all adding to the quality of life we enjoy in west michigan. Each year, the symphony offers a main season concert series and a summer concert series, reaching approximately 200,000 people through over 100 performances. Donated services related to this program for the year were 5,000. Parking passes valued at 225,836 were also donated.
$6,708,519 spent$2,639,521 earned by the program48% of program spendingGateway to music is the grand rapids symphony's collection of education and community programs that serve more than 75,000 people each year. Gateway to music programs are organized by four disctinct categories: youth education, performance opportunities, community engagement, and economic access. Youth education: lollipops concert: designed for young children & families (prek-1st), these short performances feature a connection to childrens stories and involve other arts - visual, dance, theatre, etc. -percussion discussion: grs percussionists jack latta & david hall utilize over 50 instruments to engage students (2nd-3rd) in sound exploration, movement, and critical thinking. -link up: in partnership with carnegie hall, link up encompasses a curriculum that develops concepts, skills, creativity, and prepares students (3rd-5th) to perform with the grs in a free concert at devos performance hall. -masterworks matinees: geared toward student instrumentalists grades 6-12, these concerts feature approachable repertoire and are at st. Cecilia music center. It is our hope that this up close and personal experience in a historic venue will inspire young musicians. -artists in residence:…
$3,273,953 spentof which $33,956 as grants23% of program spending4,000,000 was transferred from the Grand Rapids Symphony Society to the grand rapids symphony foundation for investment to support future society operations.
$4,000,000 spentof which $4,000,000 as grants29% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $13,982,472.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $4.4M to $17M (+281%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 13% · 2021 22% · 2022 9% · 2025 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
91% of GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (58% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 13 funders to 20 funders, grant income rose $209k → $2.3M.
19 of 36 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 22% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $13M from 7 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Grand Rapids Symphony Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY raised.
From the IRS filings of GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 36 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 65% of grant income and the top three 83%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 25% · 2018 42% · 2019 44% · 2020 67% · 2021 58% · 2022 58% · 2023 46% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
52% of GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 67% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
99% of GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY's grant income comes from Michigan funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $3.6M arriving through sponsors registered in 16 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 570 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 570 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Michigan
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
59%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Grand Rapids Symphony Foundation · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY?
- GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY (Michigan) receives grants from 36 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,253,973 to it, the largest being THE RICHARD AND HELEN DEVOS FOUNDATION ($10,500,000). 24 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY have?
- IRS filings report 36 organizations giving $16,253,973 in grants to GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY, 24 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY?
- THE RICHARD AND HELEN DEVOS FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $10,500,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY SOCIETY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Michigan. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 36 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing