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: 2/5]

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Most recent Audited financial statements available on the charity’s website.

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.

34%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 34 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal:

Orchestre de Montreal is an average 3-star charity with a high grade in results reporting, one of the best in the arts sector. It has $96 million in funding reserves that cover its annual program costs for 4.4 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. In the 2020-2021 season, Rafel Payare was named OSM’s music director, becoming the ninth director in OSM’s history. OSM’s mission lists three programs: access to music, education, and excellence and innovation.

Access to music: In the 2020-2021 season, OSM performed a total of 114 concerts, which were offered in-hall, via webcast and outdoors. 34 of these concerts were offered free of charge. Nine were held in long term care facilities whereas the remainder were held under the OSM Summer Neighbourhood Series. Through this program, the OSM performed in various day camps, boroughs, suburbs, and parks. A total of 612,441 people attended these 114 concerts, where 14,096 attended in person and 598,345 attended virtually.

Education: Through its education programs, OSM gives young people the chance to discover symphonic music. OSM provides virtual tools, masterclasses, concerts, competitions and other summer activities to primary and secondary school students. The charity reports that 24,000 young people were reached through the two online school matinee performances. It also reports that 50 students were reached through 11 online masterclasses. Further, 600 students from the Jewish community were offered the opportunity to take part in an interactive concert through the Euphony Project. 70 elementary school students were involved in the implementation of the OSMose Project, intended to break down the barriers faced by special needs students in concert halls. OSM also provides free extracurricular music lessons to elementary school students. In F2021, 110 families enrolled in free lessons on weekends, allowing 200 children to engage with music on a weekly basis.

Excellence and innovation: Major projects allow OSM to maintain its leading role as a cultural ambassador. In the face of the global pandemic, OSM put on 44 webcast concerts that reached 50,000 views. Bal des enfants was broadcast live and viewable 72 hours following the performance. 600 families viewed this concert, half of which are families in need who were given access free of charge. In F2021, the Classical Flight show was held for the second time in the Montreal Airport parking lot. 900 spectators seated in 400 vehicles were able to view the performance.

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Results and Impact

In F2021, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal received 15 major awards and nominations. The charity also reports that is received an ADISQ nomination for best online presence due to the quality of its webcast concerts.

OSM reported a 50% growth in its elementary school audience due to webcast productions.

The charity also reported increases in followers on various social media platforms - 31% on Spotify, 8% on Facebook, 3.5% on Twitter, 20% on Instagram and 27% on LinkedIn. Post-concert surveys reported an 89% satisfaction with the online concert experience, 90% satisfaction with musician interview clips and 79% satisfaction with musical programs.

While Ci highlights these key outcomes, they may not be a complete representation of OSM’s results and impact.

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Finances

Ci has consolidated the charity's financials with figures of the Fondation de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal as found in its T3010 filing with the CRA. In F2021, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal reported donations of $3.1m. Its administrative costs are 12% of total revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 54% of total donations. For every dollar donated to the charity, 34 cents go to the cause. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. The charity and the foundation have funding reserves of $96m which can cover program costs for 4.4 years.

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

Updated June 8, 2022 by Angelina Curwin.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending August
202120202019
Administrative costs as % of revenues 11.7%10.3%8.8%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 53.9%75.2%53.2%
Total overhead spending 65.5%85.5%62.0%
Program cost coverage (%) 437.6%323.6%289.8%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202120202019
Donations 3,1023,0124,594
Government funding 19,01715,12013,765
Fees for service 1,8357,82815,546
Investment income 349286367
Other income 404749466
Total revenues 24,70726,99634,739
Program costs 21,97924,17931,042
Administrative costs 2,8382,7563,037
Fundraising costs 1,6712,2652,443
Total spending 26,48929,19936,521
Cash flow from operations (1,782)(2,203)(1,783)
Capital spending 68176388
Funding reserves 96,17278,24689,965

Note: Ci has consolidated audited financial statements of Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) and Fondation de L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (the foundation). Ci has adjusted for donations to OSM from the foundation affecting revenues by ($2.7m) in F2021, ($3.1m) in F2020 and ($2.9m) in F2019. Ci adjusted for donations received by the foundation affecting revenues by nil in F2021, $332k in F2020 and $625k in F2019. In F2021, the charity reported $2.7m in development project revenue. However, Ci was not able to adjust for this as the charity did not indicate how much of it was donor funded. CRA T3010 filing data was used in Ci’s allocation of program, administrative and fundraising expenses. Amortization was backed out of expenses on a pro rata basis. Ci has adjusted for fundraising costs incurred by the foundation affecting expenses by $34k in F2021, $65k in F2020 and $61k in F2019.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 48

Avg. compensation: $105,879

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
1
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
4
$80k - $120k
5
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2021

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Comments & Contact

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Charity Contact

Website: www.osm.ca
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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001