New York · Nonprofit
THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC
THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC (New York) receives grants from 100 organizations whose IRS filings report $15,624,594 to it, the largest being THE PIXLEY HILL FOUNDATION INC ($5,807,000). 61 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $5.6M
- Funders on record
- 100
- Grants received
- $16M
- Net assets
- $19M
What The Symphony Space Inc does
Mission
Symphony space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts center where adventurous programming, presented in a uniquely warm and welcoming environment, forges indelible relationships between artists and audiences. Our fundamental mission is to connect art, ideas, and community through our programs and our commitment to literacy and education through the arts. On our new york city stages, through our national broadcasts, and in the classrooms and communities we serve throughout the country, we foster access to the arts through all disciplines. Our embrace of the arts is wide, and the experiences of our audiences are deep and enriched.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Literaturesymphony space presents a full slate of artistically and culturally diverse literary programs that feature classic and contemporary works by established and emerging authors. Our selected shorts literary series was conceived with a simple premise-great stories performed by great actors-and it has influenced generations of readers through live performances on stages in new york city and across the country. The selected shorts radio hour airs on 120 public radio stations, attracting 225,000 listeners each week; more than 50,000 people download the podcast every week. At the thalia book club, readers and writers revisit cherished classics and explore new and noteworthy works throughout events that feature wide-ranging author interviews, a vivid performance of an excerpt by an actor, and a lively q & a with the audience.
$1,964,243 spent$668,806 earned by the program32% of program spendingRentalssymphony space fosters community and artistic expression beyond our own programming, from town halls to music performances, from school graduations to international dance competitions. By offering fully-equipped theaters, as well as box office, marketing, and house management services at rental rates lower than comparable venues, we provide an affordable home to more than 170 community and performing arts organizations in new york city, including the world music institute, the new amsterdam symphony orchestra, the afro-latin jazz orchestra, and many, many more.
$1,486,002 spent$1,306,064 earned by the program24% of program spendingArts educationour global arts: cultural literacy and heritage arts education program takes children on a journey of discovery and exploration to celebrate the beauty of the art and history of diverse cultures - asian, african, latin american, native american, and early american. Global arts uses the arts to help pre-k-12 students open a window on a new culture, see their own culture reflected on stage, and offer them a greater understanding of themselves and others. Our curriculum-based arts education brings engagement with the arts of global cultures into the classroom. For some, these workshops, and the field trips to our theater for vibrant and interactive live performances, are a window onto unfamiliar cultures. For others, they provide a mirror in which they see their own histories represented, something they do not typically experience in their schools.since 1993, symphony space has partnered with colleges, libraries, and community-based organizations to open a world of opportunities for more than 30,000 adult literacy learners - completely free of charge. All write! Celebrates the written word while amplifying adult voices through improved written and verbal communication…
$718,612 spent$204,294 earned by the program12% of program spendingBroadcasting, film, music, wall to wall and other programs.
$1,915,826 spent$1,049,913 earned by the program31% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $6,084,683.
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 2023 to 2024, from $21M to $19M (−10%).
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 2% · 2018 2% · 2019 4% · 2020 2% · 2021 27% · 2022 40% · 2023 18% · 2024 2%. 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 8 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
Kathy Landau
Executive director
Board chair
Lenore Davis
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 33 funders to 45 funders, grant income rose $346k → $1.2M.
15 of 100 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 7% 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 SYMPHONY SPACE INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 100 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
THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 37% of grant income and the top three 61%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 15% · 2018 29% · 2019 33% · 2020 22% · 2021 17% · 2022 31% · 2023 17% — 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
43% of THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 61% 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
76% of THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.0M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 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 THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $85k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$85k
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 SYMPHONY SPACE INC
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 New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
81%
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 THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC: 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 SYMPHONY SPACE INC?
- THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC (New York) receives grants from 100 organizations whose IRS filings report $15,624,594 to it, the largest being THE PIXLEY HILL FOUNDATION INC ($5,807,000). 61 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC have?
- IRS filings report 100 organizations giving $15,624,594 in grants to THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC, 61 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC?
- THE PIXLEY HILL FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $5,807,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE SYMPHONY SPACE INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 Symphony Space →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 100 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