California · Nonprofit
SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY
SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY (California) receives grants from 53 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,700,530 to it, the largest being THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ($1,039,830). 37 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.2M
- Funders on record
- 53
- Grants received
- $3.7M
- Net assets
- $2.9M
What San Diego Youth Symphony & Conservatory does
Mission
Since 1945, San Diego Youth Symphony (SDYS) has served as a catalyst for investing in the future of young people through joyful and transformative music-making experiences. We reach over 2,500 students and families annually throughout San Diego County through our ensemble, early childhood, and community engagement programs.Mission: SDYS instills excellence in musical achievement and personal growth through rigorous and inspiring music education experiences.Vision: Lives enriched by music.Values: Commitment, Creativity, Equity, Collaboration, Service
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Program
San Diego Youth Symphony (SDYS)For eighty years, San Diego Youth Symphony has offered youth orchestra programs in Balboa Park for young musicians at every level. Today, SDYS features 15 ensembles serving over 500 students, spanning from beginner to advanced and culminating in our flagship Symphony Orchestra. Students rehearse weekly from September through May, performing in concerts each January and May. Through this program, young people develop artistry, discipline, and lifelong friendships in one of San Diego's most beloved cultural settings. SDYS is committed to expanding access to these programs, and currently provides tuition assistance or scholarships to nearly 20% of participants.The Opus Project and Community ProgramsLaunched in 2010, the Opus Project brings free, high-quality instrumental music instruction to students who might not otherwise have access, partnering with elementary school districts to provide in-school music education rooted in a belief that every child deserves to experience the power of music. Today, the Opus Project operates in Chula Vista and Santee, continuing to serve young musicians and their families. Beyond Opus, SDYS supports music education…
$2,118,594 spent$971,439 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $2,118,594.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $3.1M to $3.9M (+29%).
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: 2017 15% · 2018 13% · 2019 16% · 2020 12% · 2021 37% · 2022 27% · 2023 15% · 2024 14% · 2025 11%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
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.
Chief executive
Michael Remson
CEO
Board chair
David Sarkaria
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 16 funders to 25 funders, grant income rose $210k → $811k.
10 of 53 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 51% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 53 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
SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 28% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
57% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 23% · 2018 14% · 2019 17% · 2020 32% · 2021 26% · 2022 35% · 2023 42% — 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
40% of SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 70% 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
51% of SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $1.8M that is directly attributable, 77% of it comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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.
Government funding SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $276k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$276k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
67% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY: 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 SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY?
- SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY (California) receives grants from 53 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,700,530 to it, the largest being THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ($1,039,830). 37 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY have?
- IRS filings report 53 organizations giving $3,700,530 in grants to SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY, 37 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY?
- THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,039,830 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY & CONSERVATORY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds San Diego Youth Symphony & Conservatory →
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 53 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing