Opera America Inc
Opera America Inc is a public charity based in New York, New York. Founded in 2005, it serves the opera community through grants and awards, professional development, convenings, and the National Opera Center. Its grantmaking supports opera companies, artists, and trustees through programs for new work, community partnerships, audience building, and other field-wide initiatives.
Opera America Inc at a glance
In short: Opera America Inc gave $315K across 14 grants in 2025 (avg $23K), top state California. 23% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $315,000
- -38.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 14
- -46.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $22,500
- +15.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $23,250
- Total assets
- $31,052,199
- -1.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 23% first-time grantees (3 of 13, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- California (42% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Opera America Inc
- How to Apply
-
Program requirements vary. For Repertoire Development Grants, the website directs Professional Company Member staff to log in for past guidelines and application materials; it does not provide future-round application materials yet.
- Review Cycle
- The next Repertoire Development Grants round is expected to be announced in fall 2027. The 2025 NYC Opera Grants application cycle has closed.
- Deadline
- The next Repertoire Development Grants round is expected to be announced in fall 2027.
- Contact
Mailing address: 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 796-8620
Website: https://operaamerica.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
14 open opportunities from Opera America Inc
A/B Testing Grants: Supporting Experimentation in Audience Building
Opera America Inc
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Deadline not published
Campbell Opera Librettist Prize
Opera America Inc
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Deadline not published
Civic Practice Grants
Opera America Inc
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Deadline not published
Who Opera America Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was San Francisco Opera ($57K across 2 grants). Together the top 10 received $278K.
Grant Size Distribution
113 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 108 grants of 113 (96%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The organization describes its grantmaking as serving opera companies and artists across North America. Specific programs have narrower stated scopes: Repertoire Development Grants support eligible Professional Company Members in the United States and Canada and their producing partners, while NYC Opera Grants are for opera organizations based in New York City with budgets below $250,000. In 2025, the largest shares of reported grant dollars by recipient state went to California (42%), New York (31%), and Massachusetts (17%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 14 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Opera America Inc open to new grantees?
23%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 3 of 13 grantees (23%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $22K; repeat grants $25K. How we count
Medians: $22K first-time, $25K repeat.
- 31% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−16%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $315K (2025) to $1.7M (2019). In 2025 it made 14 grants totaling $315K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Opera San Francisco, CA | Commissioning Grants | $47,500 |
| Fisher Center at Bard College Annandale, NY | Commissioning Grants | $35,625 |
| White Snake Projects Brookline, MA | Civic Practice | $30,000 |
| Opera Parallele San Francisco, CA | Civic Practice | $30,000 |
| Experiments in Opera Brooklyn, NY | Commissioning Grants | $28,500 |
| Boston Lyric Opera Boston, MA | Civic Practice | $25,000 |
| San Diego Opera San Diego, CA | Civic Practice | $25,000 |
| Various Organizations (Grants Under 5000) | Opera Grants for Directors/Conductors - 6 Recipients | $21,500 |
| Los Angeles Opera Los Angeles, CA | Civic Practice | $20,000 |
| Beth Morrison Projects Brooklyn, NY | Commissioning Grants | $17,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Opera America Inc?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $31,052,199 | $8,390,807 | $8,319,708 | $315,000 | 14 | $1,097,216 |
| 2024 | $31,406,399 | $7,353,833 | $7,786,684 | $508,500 | 26 | $799,238 |
| 2023 | $24,602,632 | $6,851,773 | $7,509,227 | $524,100 | 25 | $374,832 |
| 2022 | $19,961,792 | $5,782,198 | $6,655,768 | $374,600 | 21 | $768,251 |
| 2021 | $23,751,155 | $6,303,804 | $5,810,173 | $897,980 | 27 | $917,327 |
| 2020 | $21,495,082 | $5,690,929 | $6,428,191 | $878,378 | 31 | $654,551 |
| 2019 | $23,064,681 | $7,807,924 | $7,697,314 | $1,663,900 | 32 | $336,831 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
In its filing, OPERA AMERICA describes its mission as promoting the growth of opera; fostering the education, training, and development of composers, singers, and allied talent; assisting resident professional opera companies through cooperative services; improving the quality of opera presentation; and encouraging wider appreciation and enjoyment of opera.
Its grant programs include support for developing new North American opera and music theater works, commissioning new operas by women composers, civic partnerships, audience-building experiments, and small-budget New York City opera organizations. Its awards also recognize artists and trustees. The organization says its Opera Fund endowment and foundation partnerships support work including new-work development, audience building, civic practice, co-productions, and field-wide innovation among Professional Company Members.
The 2025 grantees illustrate the range of organizations supported. San Francisco Opera describes its mission as bringing growing audiences together to experience opera’s transformative power. Experiments in Opera says it supports new opera by commissioning writers and composers and producing their work. White Snake Projects describes itself as an activist opera company creating original opera and uplifting historically marginalized voices. These are the grantees’ own descriptions, not statements of OPERA AMERICA’s mission.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, OPERA AMERICA reported 14 grants totaling $315,000. The grants ranged from $6,375 to $47,500, with a median of $23,250. Listed purposes included commissioning grants and civic practice, as well as grants for directors and conductors.
Among the largest listed 2025 grants were $47,500 to San Francisco Opera for commissioning grants; $35,625 to Fisher Center at Bard College for commissioning grants; $30,000 each to White Snake Projects and Opera Parallèle for civic practice; and $28,500 to Experiments in Opera for commissioning grants. Other listed recipients included Boston Lyric Opera and San Diego Opera, each with $25,000 for civic practice, and Los Angeles Opera, with $20,000 for civic practice.
The website describes Repertoire Development Grants as biennial grants for Professional Company Members in the United States and Canada and their producing partners. Professional Company Member staff can access past guidelines and application materials by logging in. The website says announcements about future rounds will be made in fall 2027. The 2025 NYC Opera Grants application cycle has closed; the posted guidelines and worksheets are for reference only. OPERA AMERICA’s website also lists the Opera Hall of Fame and Opera Grants for Women Composers: Discovery Grants as currently open, and describes the Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize as currently open.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Marc Scorca as president/CEO through December 2025; Lee Anne Myslewski as chair; Hector Armienta and Estevan Rael-Galvez as vice chairs; Ian Rye as treasurer; and E Loren Meeker as secretary. Listed directors included James M. Barton, Afton Battle, Astrid Baumgardner, and Angel Blue.
Opera America Inc is led by Michael J. Bobbitt, President & CEO on the 2025 filing; 6 of 47 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Michael J. Bobbitt
President & CEO
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Lee Anne Myslewski
Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2023
Vice Chair → Chair, 2025
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Astrid Baumgardner
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
$8K (2022) → $1K (2025)
Susan Schultz
Finance Director
Controller → Finance Director, 2024
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$110K (2022) → $124K (2025)
Carol F. Henry
Director
Director → Chair, 2022
Chair → Director, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Susan G. Marineau
Director
Vice Chair → Chair, 2024
Chair → Director, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Timothy O'Leary
Director
Chair → Director, 2022
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Afton Battle
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Alejandra Valarino Boyer
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Anh Le
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James M. Barton
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kamala Sankaram
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Khori Dastoor
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Nadege J. Souvenir
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ana De Archuleta
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Anthony Davis
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gene Scheer
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sue Dixon
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Virginia Croskery Lauridsen
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Andrew Morgan
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Angel Blue
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Antonio C. Cuyler
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Barbara Augusta Teichert
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Barbara Lynne Jamison
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Cheryl Slay Carr
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christopher Koelsch
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Julia Noulin-Merat
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karen J. Kubin
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Maggey Oplinger
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Michael Hidetoshi Mori
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mont S. Levy
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sylvia Neil
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jason Hardy
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jessica Jahn
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karen Molleson
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karen Tiller
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Shawna Lucey
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Timothy Long
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Wayne Davis
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kevin Sobczyk
Chief Information Officer
Director of It → Chief Information Officer, 2024
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$103K (2019) → $136K (2025)
Daniel Cooperman
Chief Advancement Officer
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$122K (2021) → $167K (2025)
Jamelah Rimawi
Chief Programs Officer
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$111K (2025)
Todd Porter
Chief of Staff
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$120K (2025)
Hector Armienta
Vice Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2022
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ian Rye
Treasurer
Director → Treasurer, 2022
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Estevan Rael-Galvez
Vice Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
E. Loren Meeker
Secretary
Director → Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (51)
- Former: Marc A. Scorca (2019–2025) — President & CEO · Filing note: Thru 122025
- Former: Michael W. Egel (2019–2024) — Secretary
- Former: Beth D. Morrison (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Peggy Kriha Dye (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Annie Burridge (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Anthony Freud (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Carol E. Domina (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Carol Lazier (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Carole Yaley (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: David B. Devan (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Denyce Graves-Montgomery (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Frayda B. Lindemann (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: John Nesholm (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: L. Michelle Smith (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Laura Lee Everett (2019–2023) — Chief Programs Officer
- Former: Matthew Shilvock (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Rena M. De Sisto (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Roger Weitz (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Ryan Taylor (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Tassio Carvalho (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Wayne S. Brown (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: C. Graham Berwind III (2021–2023) — Director
- Former: Christian De Gre (2021–2023) — Chief Operations Officer
- Former: Marilyn Pearson (2021–2023) — Director
- Former: Alejandra Marti Olbrich (2023) — Director
- Former: Charles Mackay (2023) — Director
- Former: David Gockley (2023) — Director
- Former: Karen Stone (2023) — Director
- Former: Susan Morris (2023) — Director
- Former: Bill Palant (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Dona D. Vaughn (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Jane Direnzo Pigott (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Laura Kaminsky (2019–2022) — Vice Chair
- Former: Ned Canty (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Barbara Glauber (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Evan J. Hazell (2019–2021) — Treasurer
- Former: Jill Steinberg (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: John E. Baumgardner Jr. (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Larry Desrochers (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Perryn Leech (2019–2021) — Secretary
- Former: Zizi Mueller (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Bob Ellis (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Dan Cooperman (2019–2020) — Development Director
- Former: Michael Mandic (2019–2020) — Director of Finance & Operations · Filing note: Thru 122019
- Former: John G. Turner (2019) — Director
- Former: Kathryn Smith (2019) — Vice Chair
- Former: Kurt Howard (2019) — Managing Director
- Former: Nicole Paiement (2019) — Director
- Former: Robert Ellis (2019) — Director
- Former: Robert Tancer (2019) — Director
- Former: Yuval Sharon (2019) — Director
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
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $351K, to Marc Scorca Thru 122025 (President/CEO). 7 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Opera America Inc
How much does Opera America Inc give each year?
Opera America Inc gave $315K across 14 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $509K across 26 grants.
What is Opera America Inc's typical grant size?
Opera America Inc's median grant in 2025 was $23,250, and its average grant was $22,500, across 14 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Opera America Inc that year got $22K on average.
Where does Opera America Inc give grants?
Opera America Inc's top state is California, with 42% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were New York (31%) and Massachusetts (17%). The most frequent recipient cities were San Francisco, CA (3 grants) and Brooklyn, NY (3 grants).
Does Opera America Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 14 grants with a stated purpose on Opera America Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Commissioning Grants" (5 grants), "Civic Practice" (5 grants) and "Opera Grant for Directors & Conductors" (3 grants).
Who are Opera America Inc's largest grantees?
Opera America Inc's largest 2025 grantees include San Francisco Opera ($57,000 across 2 grants), Fisher Center at Bard College ($35,625) and White Snake Projects ($30,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 39% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Opera America Inc?
Opera America Inc reported $31.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $8.4M.
What does Opera America Inc fund?
In its filing, OPERA AMERICA describes its mission as promoting the growth of opera; fostering the education, training, and development of composers, singers, and allied talent; assisting resident professional opera companies through cooperative services; improving the quality of opera presentation; and encouraging wider appreciation and enjoyment of opera. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Opera America Inc?
Program requirements vary. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Opera America Inc's EIN?
Opera America Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-3520577. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 9, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 9, 2023)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS June 29, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 14, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 7, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 7, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Opera America Inc's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Opera America Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/opera-america-inc-morg_550a43042f6f469994e4afa96aacf8f6
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_203520577_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Opera America Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/opera-america-inc-morg_550a43042f6f469994e4afa96aacf8f6},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-14. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Opera America Inc's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
Opera America Inc down — hundreds of funders to go?