Blair House Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521401505
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2023471795
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,511,145
Expenses
$1,985,867
Assets
$35,085,957
Liabilities
$193,109

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH LEWIS (EXECUTIVE DI): $184,618 total reported compensation
  • ALEXANDRA SEILER (EMPLOYEE): $120,273 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Renovating and refurbishing the blair house for the u.s. Government.

What it reported doing in 2024

Established in 1985, the blair house foundation is a charitable, private, non-partisan organization committed to the stewardship and enhancement of the historic blair house. Funding from the u.s. Department of state and general services administration supports the operational and structural needs of the blair house, while it is the foundation's unique and sole responsibility to preserve and refresh the furnishings, decor, fine art, and gardens. Over the past 40 years, the foundation has underwritten and overseen a broad array of annual improvements within the house and gardens through the ongoing and generous support of patriotic americans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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.
  • 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 39
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 10%; rating input score 10
  • Program expense ratio: 71.7%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $78.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 89.8%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.67; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 10% of revenue deployed · 71.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $185K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 10/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.