Ohio · Nonprofit
THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO
THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO (Ohio) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,694,567 to it, the largest being GREATER COLUMBUS ARTS COUNCIL ($2,176,729). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.7M
- Funders on record
- 24
- Grants received
- $4.7M
- Net assets
- $1.3M
What The Opera Association of Central Ohio does
Mission
Opera columbus enriches central ohio by educating, enlightening, and entertaining people of all ages and backgrounds through the live music theatre experience by employing a diverse and far-flung supply of creative talent, ideas and artistice energies.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Productions: founded in 1981, opera columbus brings the full grandeur of opera to columbus stages wtih lush mainstage productions and creative education and community engagements programs. Under the vision of general director and ceo julia noulin-mirat, opera columbus is redefining and reimagining the concept of regional opera with world-class productions that celebrate extraordinary talent and artistic partnerships, engaging a new, diverse audience for this most magnificent of art forms. From groundbreaking collaborations to innovative and breathtaking productions, opera columbus is passionate about creating artistic moments for each and every patron.
$1,064,863 spent$386,463 earned by the program85% of program spendingEducation programs: our youth education programs support children's learning and development, building an appreciation for opera and the arts while teaching important life lessons. We are an essential part of our community's social and emotional fabric. We invest in columbus' future through our educational and community programming, including opera goes to school tour, performance workshops, concerts in the classroom, opera rehearsal previews, sketch opera, student dress rehearsals, southern theatre tours and free student tickets. Opera columbus will continue our mission to advance the experience and the art of opera by educating and inspiring all generations through a well-rounded education, with the objective of preparing the future generations to make an impact in our community.
$151,614 spent$1,925 earned by the program12% of program spendingVocal competition: the purpose of the annual, internationally-recognized irma m. Cooper-arthur and hetty bing vocal competition is to empower and celebrate young, emerging artists through cash prizes and audition experience. This competition discovers talent, reveals artistic opportunity, and engages the next generation into the professional opera community. Founded in 1983, the competition attracts exceptional artists each year, helping to launch the careers of many of its competitors. Former winners include internationally-renowned superstar denyce graves and metropolitan opera artists dina kuznetsova, richard paul fink, susan foster, lucas meachem, and alyson cambridge. The encouragement award (launched in 2013) honors a talented high school or undergraduate artist from central ohio, who receives a cash prize and an opportunity to perform at the vocal competition finals.
$39,353 spentof which $20,300 as grants$7,527 earned by the program3% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,255,830.
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 2020 to 2021, from $977k to $1.4M (+43%).
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 10% · 2018 13% · 2019 17% · 2020 11% · 2021 33% · 2022 44% · 2023 51% · 2024 57% · 2025 42%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
68% of THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 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
Julia Noulin-Merat
CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2017 and FY2018 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 9 funders, grant income rose $400k → $559k.
7 of 24 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 48% 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 THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO leans on a few funders — its largest provides 46% of grant income and the top three 92%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
98% 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 THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 58% · 2018 59% · 2019 56% · 2020 52% · 2021 47% · 2022 50% · 2023 55% — diversifying over time.
“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
29% of THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% 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
93% of THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO's grant income comes from Ohio funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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
THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO's funding base is broadening — from 4 funders to 9 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $92k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$92k
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 THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO
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 Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
73% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
93%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO: 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 THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO?
- THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO (Ohio) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,694,567 to it, the largest being GREATER COLUMBUS ARTS COUNCIL ($2,176,729). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO have?
- IRS filings report 24 organizations giving $4,694,567 in grants to THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO, 15 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO?
- GREATER COLUMBUS ARTS COUNCIL is the largest funder on record, with $2,176,729 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE OPERA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. 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 Opera Association of Central Ohio →
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 24 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