Bruce Museum Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

The bruce museum, located in bruce park, overlooking the long island sound in greenwich, Connecticut, harnesses the transformative potential of art and science to spark curiosity and connection. Opening in 1912 with a multidisciplinary vision, the museum houses a unique collection that encompasses visual arts as well as works of scientific, historical and cultural significance spanning millennia. With learning at its core, the bruce offers wide-ranging exhibitions and public programs, serving as a dynamic center for discovery that welcomes and engages visitors of all ages.the bruce underwent a dramatic expansion and upgrade in 2023 with the opening of a new building that doubled its size and tripled its gallery spaces. In its new state-of-the-art home, the bruce is deepening its role as a vital resource for learning, community building and connectivity. For more information, visit www.brucemuseum.org.in april 2025, dr. Mary-kate o'hare became the new susan e. Lynch executive director and ceo. She has 25 years of curatorial and leadership experience and came to the bruce from citi private bank art advisory, where she served as head of art advisory and director. Prior to her time at citi, o'hare spent 13 years at the newark museum, where she assumed increasingly important roles from assistant curator to curator of american art and department head.in fiscal 2024/2025 the museum hosted fourteen changing art exhibitions, three changing science exhibitions as well as three semi-permanent art exhibitions and permanent science and mineral exhibitions. Major exhibitions included: Alaska on thin ice (march 6 to october 19, 2025)this exhibit showcased Alaska's breathtaking landscapes and majestic wildlife while exposing the reality of its shifting landscape due to temperatures rising faster than almost anywhere in the USA.conservation through the arts: celebrating the federal duck stamp program (september 5 to november 23, 2024)this exhibit included the donation of 72 works by renowned wildlife artists donated by trustee richie prager. The exhibit celebrated one of the most successful conservation programs in USA history with funds raised from stamp sales conserving over 6 million acres of wetlands in all 50 states. The exhibit coincided with the museum hosting the september 2024 federal duck stamp contest.blanche lazzell: becoming an american artist (february 6 to may 4, 2025)this was the first exhibit of her works in two decades including more than 60 works from the art museum of West Virginia. It was a tribute to a female artist who translated european modernism into a uniquely american form. Lazzell considered herself primarily a painter but her time in provincetown, ma revealed her ingenuity as a printmaker with her unique white-line and color woodcuts, which earned her critical appreciation. Her woodcuts became fertile ground for geometric abstraction and cubist fragmentation.jeremy frey: woven (june 5 to september 7, 2025)the first major retrospective of a wabanaki artist in a fine art museum in the USA featured 50 baskets and presented a comprehensive survey of frey's career spanning more than two decades. The exhibit was organized by the portland museum of art. Frey is a seventh generation passamaquoddy basket maker and one of the most celebrated indigenous weavers in the country. In 2025 frey received the macarthur fellowship, an $800k award given to individuals who demonstrate extraordinary creativity and potential to impact society.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
• Fundraising efficiency: $4.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 27th 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: -45.1%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.53; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings