516 Arts

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208540744
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Albuquerque, NM, USA
Phone
5052421445
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$495,764
Expenses
$666,286
Assets
$1,203,147
Liabilities
$206,296

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • April Chalay (President/ED)
  • Carla Skeen (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • April Chalay (President/ED): $81,438 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

516 ARTS is a non-collecting contemporary art museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico that celebrates thought-provoking art in the here and now. At the core of its mission, 516 ARTS seeks to connect contemporary artists and diverse audiences. Through exhibitions and public programs that feature a mix of local, national, and international artists, 516 ARTS offers programs that inspire curiosity, dialogue, and creative experimentation.

What it reported doing in 2025

Exhibitions and Public ProgramsIn 2025, 516 ARTS presented a series of contemporary art exhibitions and over 45 public programs, including artist talks, panel discussions, performances, highlighting our continued collaborative approach. Our programming emphasized underrepresented voices and community-driven dialogue, reaching over 8,000 people in person and over 10,000 through digital and broadcast media. Admissions to the exhibitions are free to remain accessible.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.7%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 58.6%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -34.4%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.81; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.7% of revenue deployed · 58.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $390K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $81K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.