Seattle Chamber Music Festival
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Seattle Chamber Music Festival fosters the appreciation of chamber music by presenting performances featuring world-class musicians in accessible and inviting formats, with an emphasis on developing a broad-based sustainable audience through education and community outreach.
- Income
- $8.5 million
- Spending
- $3.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 64%
- Reserves
- 4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 84%
- Employees
- 21
- Volunteers
- 60
- Highest pay
- $260,276, chief executive officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 74 out of 100. Higher than 52% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.0 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 20% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 56% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 188% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1564% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2530 of 30 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $786,105 spent. The 2025 Summer Festival presented in-person and virtually, featuring 12 concerts, 12 pre-concert recitals, a jazz night and Tasting Notes, an interactive food and music celebration featuring celebrity chefs from the area.
- $414,457 spent. The 2025 Winter Festival offered six concerts in-person in the Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall which were also streamed online via livestream and available on-demand through the Virtual Concert Hall. In addition, open rehearsals, 6 free pre-concert recitals, multiple lectures and a sensory-friendly concert were offered.
- $206,161 spent. Seattle Chamber Music Society presented The Concert Truck in 18 free concerts throughout King County area parks and community spaces, and 2 large-scale concerts in major parks in Seattle and Bellevue. The Concert Truck is a mobile concert hall, complete with lights, sound, stage, piano, curtain and more, and designed to bring music outside of the concert hall and into the community.
- $1.0 million spent. Program Service 4:Seattle Chamber Music Society introduced year-round programming in 2022. This was a new project for SCMS and one that continues to bring many concerts to the Center of Chamber Music, at the Nordstrom Recital Hall and at Town Hall. Program Service 5:The SCMS Academy for Chamber Music offers high level training platforms for talented musicians in the Seattle and surrounding areas. An academy for adult muscians was added in 2025 to the existing youth program and a total of 129 participants were welcomed to study chamber music and perform in concerts and master classes during the spring and fall semesters in 2025.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since April 1982.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.