Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc DBA Bakersfield Museum of Art

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770125694
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bakersfield, CA, USA
Phone
6613237219
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,385,570
Expenses
$1,352,363
Assets
$2,741,667
Liabilities
$194,886

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Amy Smith (Exec Dir/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Amy Smith (Exec Dir/CEO): $115,003 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 Bakersfield Museum of Art inspires and engages diverse audiences by providing a broad spectrum of creative visual arts experiences through the exhibition and preservation of fine art, educational programs, community outreach and special events.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Museum provides significant educational programs including docent tours to students, art education classes during the school day for 5th grade students, after-school art enrichment classes, semester-long art enrichment classes for high school students, and summer art camps. More than 3,000 students participate in docent tours during a school year. Art education classes for 5th grade students reach more than 3,500 students annually and more than 5,000 students are served through the after-school art enrichment classes at 17 different schools. The high school free semester-long program provides guidance, mentoring, and education to 20 students annually where they learn also about art in our community and skills to pursue a career in the visual arts. Summer camp reaches approximately 500 children ages 5 to 17 years.

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.
  • 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 35
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.2%; rating input score 37
  • Program expense ratio: 39.2%; rating input score 39
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.4%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.03; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.5%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 37.2% of revenue deployed · 39.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $529K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $115K · 24 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 37/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.