Kansas City Symphony

Kansas City, MO · EIN 43-1297475 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 (tax year 2024) · View the filing · Correct or respond

Kansas City Symphony reported $21.1 million in revenue and $27.2 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $82.39 went to program services, $10.55 to management and general costs and $7.06 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 42.7% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $414,289 (Chief Executive Officer). 13 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 21% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.

Where $100 of spending went

The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $27M

Program services$82.39 $22M
Management & general$10.55 $2.9M
Fundraising$7.06 $1.9M

For context, the median across 876 covered arts, culture & humanities charities: $79.98 programs, $13.89 management, $6.13 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).

Where $100 of revenue came from

The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $21M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$40.56 $8.6M
Government grants$2.10 $443K
Program service revenue$40.65 $8.6M
Investment income$15.89 $3.4M
Other revenue$0.80 $168K

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

FY2025 filing. Median across 876 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	FY2025	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	82.4%	78.5%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	10.5%	13.6%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	7.1%	6.0%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.21	$0.10
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	42.7%	57.5%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	2.1%	1.7%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	40.7%	20.8%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$414,289	$385,706
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	1.52%	2.03%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	13	8
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	36.5	36.6
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	17 of 23	100.0%

A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.

What the money paid for, in its own words

FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$22M expenses · 100.0% of program spending · revenue $8.6M

During the 2025 fiscal year, the Kansas City Symphony offered 201 performances of 83 different programs across the full range of classical, pops, film, and other repertoire. In addition, the Symphony served as the pit orchestra in 64 performances of eight different programs for the Kansas City Ballet and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Symphony audiences hailed from 1,512 communities in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and 10 foreign countries. In total, the Kansas City Symphony reached more than 209,000 people in person during the 2024/25 season. Classical audiences numbered…

Highest reported compensation

FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here

Role	From this org	From related orgs	Other	Total
Chief Executive Officer Director/trustee, officer, 50.0 hrs/week	$351,008	$0	$63,281	$414,289
Concertmaster Highest compensated employee, 30.0 hrs/week	$222,270	$0	$72,162	$294,432
Associate Concertmaster Highest compensated employee, 30.0 hrs/week	$118,978	$0	$56,336	$175,314
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Highest compensated employee, 40.0 hrs/week	$141,705	$0	$23,381	$165,086
Principal Cello Highest compensated employee, 30.0 hrs/week	$109,588	$0	$53,367	$162,955
Chief Financial Officer Officer, 40.0 hrs/week	$115,557	$0	$44,094	$159,651
Principal Bassoon Highest compensated employee, 30.0 hrs/week	$102,000	$0	$34,150	$136,150
FORMER DIRECTOR Former, 30.0 hrs/week	$108,358	$0	$27,594	$135,952

13 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Kansas City Symphony (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $1.1M (Part IX, line 5).

6 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
FY2025 ⓘ	$21M	$27M	82.4%	$83M	$414,289
FY2024 ⓘ	$23M	$25M	80.4%	$81M	$394,133
FY2023 ⓘ	$20M	$22M	82.1%	$75M	$348,482
FY2022 ⓘ	$24M	$18M	82.7%	$71M	$294,503
FY2021 ⓘ	$15M	$12M	77.9%	$73M	$294,086
FY2020 ⓘ	$17M	$18M	78.0%	$57M	$315,964

Governance answers, as filed

FY2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means

Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b23 · 17 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4No
Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18Yes
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
Employees Part I, line 5396
Volunteers Part I, line 6500

Largest outside contractors

FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only

Barkley LLC advertising and marketing	$595,025
Community Counselling Services philanthropy campaign consulting	$470,000
Thaumas Inc conducting	$334,040
Matthias Pintscher conducting & music director	$302,500
StoryMap Marketing LLC marketing & advertising consulting	$281,440

Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 12 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.

Private foundation grants it received

42 private foundations reported grants to Kansas City Symphony totaling $2.6M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.

Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.

Correct a figure or respond

Every number above is copied from Kansas City Symphony's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Kansas City Symphony, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

Report a correction Respond as Kansas City Symphony How this works

Similar-sized charities in this cause

5th Avenue Theatre Association
Seattle, WA · revenue $21M · programs 80.0% · FY2025
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley, CA · revenue $21M · programs 85.3% · FY2025
Experience Learning Community
Seattle, WA · revenue $21M · programs 84.8% · 2024
Creative Visions Foundation
Malibu, CA · revenue $21M · programs 97.0% · 2024
Fort Worth Art Association
Fort Worth, TX · revenue $21M · programs 68.1% · FY2025

All arts, culture & humanities charities · Largest charities in Missouri

Questions people ask

How much of Kansas City Symphony's spending goes to programs?

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Kansas City Symphony reported that 82.4% of its $27.2 million in expenses went to program services, 10.5% to management and general and 7.1% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Kansas City Symphony pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Kansas City Symphony reported for one person in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 was $414,289, for the role of Chief Executive Officer (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Kansas City Symphony get its money?

Of $21.1 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, 42.7% came from contributions and grants (including 2.1% from government grants) and 40.7% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Kansas City Symphony a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 43-1297475 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.

Sources

FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, object 202611219349302011 · read the filing · XML
FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, object 202541259349301574 · read the filing
FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, object 202421219349300932 · read the filing
FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, object 202311249349301421 · read the filing
FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, object 202231369349306798 · read the filing
FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, object 202131379349305688 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 43-1297475: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.