Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal

260 Boul. De Maisonneuve Ouest
Montreal, QC H2X 1Y9
CEO: Madeleine Careau
President: Lucien Bouchard

Charitable Reg. #:11906 9524 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 1/5]

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements available only upon request.

A-

RESULTS REPORTING

Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.

n/r

DEMONSTRATED IMPACT

The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.

NEED FOR FUNDING

Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.

18%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 18 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal:

Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal is a 3-star charity with an A- results reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 18 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. It has $108m in reserve funds, that can cover annual program costs for 3.5 years.

Founded in 1934, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) is a professional arts organization that performs symphonic music and concerts of international artists. OSM is made up of more than 94 permanent musicians in five categories: strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, and harp. Rafel Payar is the current musical director, becoming the ninth director in OSM’s history.

In F2023, OSM performed a total of 188 concerts, which were offered in-hall, via webcast and outdoors. A total of 305,285 people attended in-person performances, and 111,021 people watched via webcast. The charity offers many free in-person concerts and events throughout the year, attended by 122,328 people in F2023. OSM’s international tour included six concerts in Europe and two concerts in the United States.

Through its education programs, the OSM offers young people opportunities to explore symphonic music. It provides virtual tools, masterclasses, concerts, competitions, and summer activities for primary and secondary school students. In F2023, the charity reports that 17,195 students were reached through 12 in-hall and five webcast school matinee performances. The OSM competition hosted 40 contestants and eight adjudicators. OSM also provides free extracurricular music lessons to elementary school students. In F2023, 160 families enrolled in free lessons on weekends, allowing 200 children to engage with music on a weekly basis.

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Results and Impact

In F2023, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal received five major awards and nominations. For example, it received the Opus Award for Concert of the Year.

The charity also reported increases in followers on various social media platforms: 2% on Spotify, 15% on Facebook, 6% on Youtube, 22% on Instagram and 25% on LinkedIn.

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of OSM’s results and impact. Charity Intelligence has not yet rated OSM on impact. This shows as (n/r).

 

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Finances

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal’s audited financial statements for F2023 and F2022 lack the financial notes. As a result, the following analysis might not fully capture or accurately reflect the charity’s financial position.

Ci has consolidated OSM’s financials with figures from Fondation de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (the foundation) audited financial statements.

In F2023, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal received $4.9m in donations, and $12.2m in fees for service. It also received $12.0m in government funding, which is 30% of revenues. The charity reports spending $30.4m on program costs in F2023 (77% of revenues), but does not provide a breakdown of program costs.

Administrative costs are 11% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 71% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 82%. For every dollar donated, 18 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range of 65 to 95 cents. 

The charity and foundation have $107.9m in reserve funds, which can cover annual program costs for three years and seven months. OSM recorded a surplus of $2.3m in F2023, which is 6% of total revenues.

This report is an update that has been sent to l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated August 14, 2024 by Alexia Tudose.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending August
202320222021
Administrative costs as % of revenues 11.3%9.7%7.5%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 70.8%61.7%78.6%
Total overhead spending 82.1%71.4%86.2%
Program cost coverage (%) 355.3%443.5%616.1%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202320222021
Donations 4,8543,7268,151
Government funding 11,99718,95320,823
Fees for service 12,1826,5411,835
Investment income 10,080(2,282)16,574
Other income 424446404
Total revenues 39,53727,38347,787
Program costs 30,37924,37417,728
Administrative costs 3,3362,8902,351
Fundraising costs 3,4362,2986,409
Other costs 6100
Cash flow from operations 2,324(2,179)21,298
Capital spending 2814668
Funding reserves 107,933108,109109,227

Note: Charity Intelligence analyzed Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal’s French audited financial statements to the best of our abilities, but we recognize that detailed financial information is beyond our linguistic expertise. Material omissions may be reflected in Charity Intelligence’s analysis. Ci adjusted for related party transfers, donations from the Foundation to OSM, affecting revenues by ($5.5m) in F2023, ($3.3m) in F2022, and ($2.7m) in F2021. Ci adjusted government funding for the charity’s deferred products, affecting revenues by ($3.3m) in F2023, $1.2m in F2022, and $1.5m in F2021. Ci adjusted for amortization of deferred capital contributions, affecting revenues by ($333k) in F2023, F2022, and F2021. OSM uses line item costing in its financial statements, and Ci allocated each expense item to program, administrative, or fundraising costs to the best of our ability.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 80

Avg. compensation: $86,886

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
1
$160k - $200k
2
$120k - $160k
5
$80k - $120k
2
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.osm.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 514-842-9951

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001