Symphony Silicon Valley

“Jennifer Watkins, the General Manager, is wife of the President, Andrew Bales.”

“The form 990 is scanned and e-mailed to each trustee on receipt. A hard copy is also delivered to the Finance Committee members, by hand or Federal Express, to ensure receipt. A review of the return is scheduled with Finance Committee members and key staff (President, General Manager) before the tax return is filed; the review may be conducted by conference call. All Board members are encouraged to join in and raise questions. Any issues brought up at that meeting and their resolution are reported to the full Board during discussion of the return.”

“The Symphony's Conflict of Interest policy is distributed to the Board members once each year, or when they join the Board if they have missed the annual distribution, and a signed copy is collected from each member, which is kept in the General Manager's Board files. Board members are required to report to the General Manager any activity or relationship that might constitute or give rise to a conflict as defined by the policy. Any such activity or relationship is subsequently reported to and reviewed either by the Audit Committee (which currently serves as our Personnel Committee for any unresolved grievances), or by the full Board.”

“The compensation of the President and General Manager is determined by an ad hoc Board committee made up of the Board Chair and other Board members. The Committee reviews executive compensation using Guidestar, and 990s from comparable nonprofits, taking into account the comparable market rates in the local geographic area. The compensation for these two positions is voted on and approved at the Board Meeting in closed session; the process is recorded in the minutes, and a memo notating the results is included in the President's and General Manager's personnel files. Most recently, the president's and general manager's compensations were reviewed in October, 2015.”

“The Organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are made available to the public upon request.”

“In 2016-17, the symphony silicon valley (ssv) opened the season with free daylong, orchestra performances for a citywide fourth of july celbration produced in collaboration with san jose rotary. It performed on a custom open-air stage in a local park, closing the day with fireworks shot off to beethoven's 1812 overture. In addition to the oirchestra's own programs, ssv presented taiko, mariachi, and jazz ensembles to a diverse audience estimated at 30,000. Following the 2016 closure of the local ballet company, which cut both musician employment and audience services, ssv tested the appeal of a high quality imported nutcracker production. It presented a professional russian ballet production and dance troupe for ten performances, accompanied by the ssv orchestra - the only professional production in the greater south bay. The experiment will continue next season.”

“ARTIST FEES: Program service expenses 629,700. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 629,700. PAYROLL FEES: Program service expenses 15,890. Management and general expenses 1,003. Fundraising expenses 656. Total expenses 17,549. Website: Program service expenses 0. Management and general expenses 1,050. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 1,050. Miscellaneous: Program service expenses 0. Management and general expenses 131. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 131.”