1937 China Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465386985
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Fremont, CA, USA
Phone
6506858768
Rating
54
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$26,238
Expenses
$63,249
Assets
$336,410
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WAYNE LIN (CEO)

People named in this filing

  • FLORENCE FANG (Chairman)
  • WAYNE LIN (CEO)
  • DEBORAH ZHAO (CFO)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The purpose and mission of 1937 China Museum (doing business as WWII Pacific War Memorial Hall) is to exhibit and preserve the photographs, video footages, documents and relics from the Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945, in order to educate the general public in the United States about the cruelty and perversity of the war, the devastation it caused upon the Chinese people, the bravery of and sacrifices made by the Allied Forces during the war, especially the joint contributions from the Americans and the Chinese, and last but not least, the importance of peace. 1937 China Museum looks to play a key role in building a long-lasting bridge of friendship between two great peoples, the Americans and the Chinese. The 1937 China Museum plans to accept donations solely for this purpose, with all proceeds being used to fund the opening of the museum located in San Francisco, California, as well as starting and maintaining a web page that would help us better serve our mission.

What it reported doing in 2018

Online and offline campaigns encouraging donation on continuing construction of the museum.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 35.9%; rating input score 36
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -141.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.32; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -38.1% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.6% of revenue deployed · 35.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $23K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2014 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 36/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.