Autry Museum of the American West

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953947744
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
3234954279
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,958,406
Expenses
$21,652,677
Assets
$179,864,026
Liabilities
$3,005,493

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

46 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEPHEN ARON (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHEN ARON (PRESIDENT & CEO): $348,237 total reported compensation
  • GASPARE BENSO (CFO & EVP OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS): $270,784 total reported compensation
  • CRISTIAN HAMILTON (VP OF ADVANCEMENT): $231,568 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The autry brings together the stories of all peoples of the american west, connecting the past with the present to inspire our shared future. The autry creates provocative, engaging, and compelling museum experiences that increase people's understanding (continued in sch o)of each other and america, help the community ask and answer important questions about the most pressing issues of society, and promote solutions beneficial to the greater good.

What it reported doing in 2024

The education department is dedicated to enriching the experience of all visitors through thoughtful, entertaining and engaging classes, programs and activities. Throughout 2024, which includes the second semester of the 2023-2024 academic year and the first semester of the 2024-2025 academic year, the autry served 12,545 k-12 students in-person, including students from title i schools who came through the all-aboard bus program. Through online, via digital tours, lessons, primary source collections, and other interactive features, the autry education department served 20,980 unique users online in 2024. The autry education department also offered its outreach programs in which museum educators go into classrooms across los angeles county. Through the autry in residence program, (continued in schedule o)the autry served 9,529 third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Through the autry classroom curators outreach program, the autry served 1,195 k-16 students. The education department offers programs exploring diverse aspects of life in the west through the autry's art and artifacts and meets California state content standards in history/social science for kindergarten through 12th grade. Examples of these standards include cowboys: past and present (for kindergarten through 2nd grade), sculpture explorers (for kindergarten through 2nd grade), tongva: the first peoples of los angeles (for 3rd through 8th grades), the California gold rush (for 3rd through 6th grades), trails west (for 3rd through 8th grades), and waterways (middle and high school grades). The autry also offers older students a deeper understanding of the story of the west through innovative outreach programs. Museum educators work in local schools to bring together students, teachers, and museum professionals to learn about history in fun and engaging ways, including the annual student visual arts exhibition. The autry also supports the professional development of educators through the autry classroom curators program, which help los angeles-area teachers to create object and project-based learning units, and the autry educators' institute, which offers multi-day professional development learning opportunities for educators.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 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: -81.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.31; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.1% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 36 of 36 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $17.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $348K · 46 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.5M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.