Toronto Symphony Orchestra

212 King Street West, 6th Floor
Toronto, ON M5H 1K5
CEO: Mark Williams
Board Chair: Catherine Beck

Charitable Reg. #:10525 5335 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 1/5]

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

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

D

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.

69%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 69 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Toronto Symphony Orchestra:

Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a 1-star rated charity. The charity has a D in results reporting, meaning it publicly reports little information on its programs and results. Before you give, read Charity Intelligence's report.

Founded in 1922, Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is one of Canada's largest arts charities. Outside its main orchestral performances, TSO runs a youth orchestra (TYSO), school concerts, and various online learning programs. 

TSO has not posted an annual report for 2021 or 2020. Most of these results below refer to a report from 2019.

The Toronto Symphony's main orchestra performed 140 times in F2019. Additionally, in F2019, the TSO had a total attendance of 267,257 people, with 21,507 first-time attendees. Effective with the 2020-2021 season, Gustavo Gimeno was appointed as the orchestra's new music director. 

The charity also performs concerts for school groups. The orchestra gives students a look into how the orchestra prepares for a performance and a Q&A period. The orchestra presented concerts for over 40,000 students in F2021.

The TSYO offers free training for young musicians aged 22 and under. The TSYO holds annual auditions for aspiring members and, for those on the orchestra, has weekly rehearsals for members. 

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Results and Impact

Charity Intelligence did not find any quantified outcomes on the Toronto Symphony Orchestra website. This may not be a complete representation of Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s results and impact.

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Finances

In the following financial analysis, Ci consolidated Toronto Symphony Orchestra with Toronto Symphony Orchestra Foundation.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra received $13.1m in donations in F2021. Administrative costs were 21% of revenues and fundraising costs were 10% of donations in F2021. For every dollar donated to the charity, 69 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

TSO uses external fundraisers as part of its fundraising activities. In F2021, the charity paid out $122k to external fundraisers and collected $309k. For every dollar collected, TSO paid out $0.40.

TSO has funding reserves of $53.2m, $39.0m of which is donor-endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity can cover one year and nine months of annual program costs or just under ten months based on average program cost over the past three years.

In addition to reported salary information, TSO spent $494k and the Foundation spent $269k on professional and consulting fees. Compensation figures for staff do not include these consulting fees. 

The audited financials for Toronto Symphony Orchestra are publicly available. However, the TSO Foundation’s statements are only available on request. As such, Charity Intelligence has scored TSO as transparent, but not fully transparent on its financials.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 8, 2022 by Ann Lei.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending June
202120202019
Administrative costs as % of revenues 21.4%17.3%20.5%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 9.6%7.4%14.6%
Total overhead spending 31.0%24.7%35.1%
Program cost coverage (%) 179.6%75.1%(9.4%)

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202120202019
Donations 13,06024,44115,677
Government funding 9,6246,6275,499
Fees for service 2096,7029,970
Special events 0245567
Investment income 7,188(673)349
Other income 22610834
Total revenues 30,10337,95232,897
Program costs 9,87615,90718,421
Administrative costs 4,9016,6856,669
Fundraising costs 1,2521,8172,373
Other costs 437123
Total spending 16,03424,44627,587
Cash flow from operations 14,06913,5065,310
Capital spending 5611016
Funding reserves 53,20442,10928,045

Note: Transfers between TSO and TSO Foundation of $886k in F2022, $1.6m in F2021, and $1.8m in F2020 were excluded from revenue. Investment income is reported net of investment management fees reducing revenue and expenses by $269k in F2022, $335k in F2021, and $41k in F2020. Ci adjusted for amortization of deferred lease inducement affecting other revenue by ($28k) in F2022, F2021, and F2020. Ci backed out amortization from program, administrative, and fundraising costs on a pro-rata basis. Ci adjusted for pledges receivable affecting revenue by ($45k) in F2021, $884k in F2020, $9.6m in F2019. Ci adjusted for bequests receivable recognized as revenue in F2020, affecting revenue by $10.0m in F2020, and ($10.0m) in F2019.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 65

Avg. compensation: $82,391

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
1
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
1
$160k - $200k
3
$120k - $160k
5
$80k - $120k
0
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2021

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

Charity Contact

Website: www.tso.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-598-3375

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