Opera Southwest

“No Opera Southwest committee is permitted to act on behalf of the governing body, without express permission of the Board of Directors. Actions and discussions of committee meetings are included in the monthly Board of Directors meeting minutes each month.”

“The organization has a Guild affiliate called the Opera Southwest Guild that operates to assist in raising funds and community awareness of Opera Southwest. At this time, no written policies or procedures exist for the Guild's operations. However, the Treasurer of Opera Southwest, a CPA, is also the Treasurer for the Guild, and maintains the same vigilance over financial standards and tax-exempt requirements as with Opera Southwest itself.”

“The Form 990 is prepared by the Treasurer of the Board of Directors with information from the company books, maintained by the General Manager, and audited by an independent Cetified Public Accountant. The financial records are reviewed and presented as monthly financials to the complete Board of Directors every month. The Form 990 is reviewed by the General Manager and is presented to the Board of Directors for its review in electronic format, prior to discussion at each monthly Board meeting. Copies of the Form 990 are reported to the NM Attorney General's Charitable Organizations Registry, and a copy of the return is available to the public on that website.”

“The organization's Form 990 is sent electronically to all members of the Board of the Directors for their review. Each Board Member is asked to review the document and to ask questions and provide input to the organization's Treasurer, who signs and files Form 990. In addition, a draft of the Form 990 is discussed at a Board Meeting before the Form 990 is finalized and filed. The final Form 990 is provided to all requesting Board Members after the return is filed.”

“Each director, principal officer and member of a committee with board delegated powers shall annually sign a statement which affirms such person: a. Has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy, b. Has read and understands the policy, c. Has agreed to comply with the policy, and d. Understands OPERA SOUTHWEST is charitable and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.”

“All governing documents, tax returns and public information is available through the website of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General Charitable Organizations Registry website, as required by NM state law.”

“All Opera Southwest company information, governing documents and tax returns available upon request. Also, all governing documents, tax returns and public information is available through the website of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General Charitable Organizations Registry website, as required by NM state law.”

“The procedures are the same as last year.”