Cedarburg Art Museum & Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461480670
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cedarburg, WI, USA
Phone
2623776123
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$283,538
Expenses
$334,309
Assets
$1,383,123
Liabilities
$20,648

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER GERBER (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • THOMAS FELMER (PRESIDENT)
  • SARAH PECOR (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER GERBER (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $54,858 total reported compensation
  • JOHN BAUER (INTERIM EXEXUTIVE DIRECTOR): $35,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To collect, preserve, and exhibit the art of Wisconsin with emphasis on Cedarburg and the surrounding areas.

What it reported doing in 2025

To be a preferred destination that promotes significant artwork in a historic and inclusive environment, that celebrates creative expression, inspires future talent, and supports a rich, cultural community.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.5%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17.9%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.14; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.9%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.5% of revenue deployed · 73% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $244K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $55K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.