Aspen Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
846037756
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Aspen, CO, USA
Phone
9709253721
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,413,072
Expenses
$1,919,265
Assets
$6,226,488
Liabilities
$215,891

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHARLES CUNNIFFE (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • JACQUELINE HUTTON (CO-PRESIDENT)
  • RUTH OWENS HANRAHAN (CO-PRESIDENT)
  • KELLY MURPHY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LISA HANCOCK (VICE PRESIDENT, CURATOR OF COLLECTIONS)
  • AMY HONEY (VICE PRESIDENT, EDUCATION AND PROGRAMMING)

Highest reported compensation

  • KELLY MURPHY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $160,413 total reported compensation
  • LISA HANCOCK (VICE PRESIDENT, CURATOR OF COLLECTIONS): $116,437 total reported compensation
  • AMY HONEY (VICE PRESIDENT, EDUCATION AND PROGRAMMING): $115,493 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The aspen historical society enriches the community through preserving and communicating of its remarkable history. The aspen historical society actively preserves and passionately presents the local history in an inspired and provocative manner that will continue to anchor the community and its evolving character. The society enhances the lives of those with whom it works and lives. The society offers a compelling reason to live in and to visit aspen/snowmass.

What it reported doing in 2025

Maintain historical museums and archive service for public. Conduct maintenance of historical settlements. Service area includes aspen, Colorado and the upper roaring fork valley. Provide educational programs, events, and tours about the history of aspen and surrounding areas. The sites had 23,610 total visits during the year and the educational programs served 16,002 contacts during the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 69% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.1%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 70.9%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.5%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.24; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.4%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59.1% of revenue deployed · 70.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 19 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.