Berkshire Athenaeum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
046004200
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pittsfield, MA, USA
Phone
4134999480
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$596,205
Expenses
$424,147
Assets
$8,496,218
Liabilities
$291

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAMELA L KNISLEY (PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN D NEINER (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALEX RECZKOWSKI PAID BY CITY (LIBRARY DIRECTOR): $108,264 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 berkshire athenaeum, pittsfield's public library, exists to initiate, nurture and feed a passion for knowledge and learning. The library offers people of all ages the materials and services necessary to satisfy an appetite for information about popular culture and social trends and their desire for enjoyable recreational experiences; enables older children and adults to explore personal, historical and cultural heritage; supplies the means for individuals to continue to learn throughout their lives; and provides the sophisticated information services needed to answer their questions; all in a welcoming setting for people to engage with others and discuss a variety of community issues.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule oin fiscal year 2025, the library had 243,593 circulations of materials to 17,864 registered borrowers.the library's operating hours are 63 hours per week, for a total of 3,107 public service hours open for the year.the library has 16 full-time and approximately 35 part-time staff who answered 34,904 reference questions this year. The library also provided 39,139 wireless internet sessions and 16,036 wired computer sessions this year. The library offered 529 programs with 10,058 total attendance at those programs.additionally, self-directed activities (including puzzles, coloring sessions, and scavenger hunts) numbered 62, with ,1288 participants. Finally, the library's meeting rooms were utilized 1,014 times during the course of the year.(this was reduced from previous years due to a flooring replacement project)

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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filed totals do not add up and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.1%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th 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: 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 28.9%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 20.03; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.1% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $376K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $108K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 20 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.