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Madison Opera Inc

Public charity · Grantmaker Madison, WI EIN: 39-1789514 Website

The mission of Madison Opera is to produce operas of the highest artistic standards.

Key facts about Madison Opera Inc

EIN
39-1789514
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025
Total assets
$2,180,857

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing

Total Assets

$2.2M

-9.2% YoY

Revenue

$2.5M

-5.4% YoY

Net Investment Income

$5K

+513.3% YoY

Expenses

$2.7M

-1.0% YoY

About Madison Opera Inc

Based on IRS filings

Madison Opera Inc is a public charity focused on Arts, Culture & Humanities, based in Madison, WI. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $2.2M in total assets. Net investment income was $5K.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

1state

States

Cities

Madison

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$100K$200K$300K1 grant2019 0 grants2020 0 grants2021 0 grants2022 1 grant2023 1 grant2024 0 grants2025

From 2019 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $30K (2023) to $250K (2019). In 2024 it made 1 grant totaling $100K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Grant Size Distribution

2 grants across all recorded years

1<$50K$50–100K1$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 1 grant of 2 (50%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

No grants recorded for 2025.

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Revenue
Expenses
Net Investment Income
$0$1M$2M$3M$4M2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$2,180,857$2,402,964$2,489,023
Revenue$2,466,490$2,606,760$2,147,945
Expenses$2,744,146$2,771,262$2,378,355
Net Investment Income$5,403$881$765

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS February 6, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS December 22, 2023)
  3. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS December 20, 2024)
  4. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Madison Opera Inc is led by Susan Zaeske, President since 2025 (on filings since 2019); 1 of 32 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Susan Zaeske

    President

    Treasurer → Vice President, 2021

    Vice President → President, 2025

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Thomas Terry

    Chairman

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Kathryn Smith

    General Director

    On filings since 2019

    60 hrs/week

    $110K (2019) → $152K (2025)

  • Brian Haltinner

    Trustee

    Trustee → Treasurer, 2024

    Treasurer → Trustee, 2025

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • David Flanders

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Fran Klos

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • J. Marshall Osborn

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Joyce Hirsch

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Martin Barrett

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Pete Lundberg

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Peyton Engel

    Trustee

    Vice President → President, 2023

    President → Trustee, 2025

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Sally Miley

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Sharyn Stumpf

    Trustee

    Trustee → Secretary, 2021

    Secretary → Trustee, 2023

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Stephen Hurley

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Susan Lipp

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Toby Wallach

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Carla Alvarado

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Patti Lucas

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Viki Brigham

    Trustee

    Trustee → Secretary, 2022

    Secretary → Trustee, 2024

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jane Taves

    Trustee

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Selma Vaneyck

    Trustee

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Sonja Yde

    Trustee

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Barbara Merz

    Trustee

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Cyrena Pondrom

    Trustee

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Larry Bechler

    Trustee

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Debra Anken-Dyer

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Kathy Condit

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Susan Thibeault

    Trustee

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Connie Kinsella

    Treasurer

    Treasurer → Trustee, 2024

    Trustee → Treasurer, 2025

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Franzo Law II

    Secretary

    Trustee → Secretary, 2024

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Martha Casey

    Vice President

    Trustee → Vice President, 2023

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Lynn Mecklenburg

    Vice President

    Trustee → Vice President, 2024

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (19)
  • Former: Aileen Jensen (2019–2024) — Life Trustee
  • Former: Brandon Hayes (2019–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: John Lemke (2019–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Leanne Cordisco (2019–2024) — Trustee
  • Former: Michael McArdle (2019–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: John Buscemi (2020–2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Rick Nordheim (2023) — Trustee
  • Former: Charles Snowdon (2019–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: Connie Maxwell (2019–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: Deepika Rajesh (2019–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: Gary Bennett (2019–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: J. Ashley Taylor (2019–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: R. Roth Judd (2019–2022) — Trustee
  • Former: Sonja Micksch (2019–2021) — Trustee
  • Former: Maryann Sumi (2019–2020) — Trustee
  • Former: Maytee Aspuro (2019–2020) — Trustee
  • Former: Kirsten Spira (2019) — Trustee
  • Former: Phillip Certain (2019) — Trustee
  • Former: Wendy Moore Skinner (2019) — Trustee

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Kathryn Smith — General Director: $152KKathryn SmithGeneral Director$152K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $152K, to Kathryn Smith (General Director).

Frequently asked questions about Madison Opera Inc

How large is Madison Opera Inc?

Madison Opera Inc reported $2.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $2.5M.

What is Madison Opera Inc?

Madison Opera Inc is a public charity focused on Arts, Culture & Humanities, based in Madison, WI. It holds $2.2M in total assets as of 2025.

Where does Madison Opera Inc operate?

Madison Opera Inc has awarded grants in Wisconsin.

What is Madison Opera Inc's EIN?

Madison Opera Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 39-1789514. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.

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