Association for Gravestone Studies
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 112483378
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2021–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- Amherst, MA, USA
- Phone
- 4137720836
- Rating
- 64
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Historical Societies & Historic Preservation
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $145,104
- Expenses
- $124,474
- Assets
- $305,303
- Liabilities
- $1,064
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Perky Beisel (President)
- Elise Ciregna (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- Perky Beisel (President)
- Elise Ciregna (Vice President)
- Judith Trainor (Treasurer)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To study, educate, and preserve gravemarkers
What it reported doing in 2025
Publication of scholarly journal, quarterly educational magazine, and monthly newsletters to 750 members
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 49
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 67
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 45%; rating input score 45
- Program expense ratio: 55.2%; rating input score 55
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 14.2%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.45; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 45% of revenue deployed · 55.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $69K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 55/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.