Atlanta History Center

What it reported doing in 2024

Atlanta History Center consists of a 33-acre campus in Buckhead that includes the Atlanta History Museum, Goizueta Gardens, Kenan Research Center, and three historic houses, and Atlanta History Center-Midtown, which includes the Margaret Mitchell House, exhibition space, and event space. Atlanta History Museum is one of the largest history museums in the country. Through signature, temporary, and traveling exhibitions, visitors can explore the history of Atlanta and the southeast from the land's original inhabitants until the present day. The museum also includes the fully-restored The Battle of Atlanta cyclorama painting in the multimedia experience Cyclorama: The Big Picture. All exhibitions and digital content are supported by the museum collections. The museum artifact collections are particularly strong in American Civil War and Reconstruction, Atlanta businesses and home life, period furniture and decorative arts, and a significant collection of fashion and textiles. The living collections of the Atlanta History Center are presented throughout Goizueta Gardens, containing 9 distinct thematic gardens: Gilbert Quarry Garden, Smith Farm gardens, Swan House Garden, Swan Woods, Sims Asian Garden, Rhododendron Garden, Olguita's Garden, Veterans Park, and the Entrance Gardens. For people looking to conduct research, Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center is a free public archives and special collections library offering a multitude of resources for the study of Atlanta and Southern regional history and culture. Dedicated collections include decorative arts, Southern architecture, genealogy, military history, railroads, and southern gardens. Copies of historic photographs, prints, and other archival materials can be purchased through Kenan Research Center. The historic houses provide unique and interactive access points to history, and include Smith Farm, Swan House, Wood Cabin, and Margaret Mitchell House. The Smith farmhouse (listed on the National Register as the Tullie Smith farmhouse), Swan House, and Margaret Mitchell House (listed on the National Register as Crescent Apartments) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Smith Farmhouse and detached kitchen were built in the 1840s. The site also includes relocated structures and replicas of other likely structures including a cabin interpreted as an enslaved persons residence, a reconstructed blacksmith shop and barn, and a 19th century corn crib. The site is presented in the 1860s through interpretation for children and adults with heirloom crops and live heirloom breed animals. The 1928 Swan House, designed by Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze, provides a glimpse into the lives of those who lived and worked in the mansion during the 1930s. The 1840s Wood Cabin helps visitors learn about the lives of white settlers in the southeastern United States and first contact with Native Americans, including the Muskogee people. Margaret Mitchell House is located in the heart of midtown at Atlanta History Center Midtown. The house features the apartment where Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind. The building also includes other exhibition galleries. The campus includes a separate building called Commercial Row, a refurbished historic retail space that serves as an event space used for author programs, gallery installations, and private events. Atlanta History Center served more than 80,000 people either on-campus or off-campus throughout the year.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 67%; rating input score 67
• Program expense ratio: 74.5%; rating input score 74
• Fundraising efficiency: $16.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 32%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.45; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 8.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings