Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
540505888
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Williamsburg, VA, USA
Phone
(888) 965-7254
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$149,379,664
Expenses
$120,073,091
Assets
$1,709,258,565
Liabilities
$398,898,131

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

Leadership & pay

41 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Clifford Fleet III (President & CEO)
  • Robert Underwood (Vice President)
  • Samuel Rucker (Vice President)
  • Elizabeth Kelly (Vice President)
  • Marianne Nagawiecki (Vice President)
  • Gary Sandling (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Clifford Fleet III (President & CEO): $800,881 total reported compensation
  • Kevin Patrick (CFO & Treasurer): $523,998 total reported compensation
  • Hazel Wong (CLC & Secretary): $476,671 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 restoration and preservation of Williamsburg began in 1926 and has been ongoing ever since. Research, conservation and historic preservation lie at the heart of Colonial Williamsburg’s mission to present the stories of America’s origins.

What it reported doing in 2024

Museums, Preservation and Historic Resources-Colonial Williamsburg's wide-ranging collections, acquired over the past 90 years, provide the art, objects, artifacts, and buildings necessary to accurately recreate the environment of 18th-century Williamsburg. The archaeological and architectural collection include 500,000 whole archaeological artifacts from excavations in and around Williamsburg as well as 60 million fragments (probably the largest single archaeological holding relating to 18th-century America), and some 19,000 architectural fragments.

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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96%; rating input score 96; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.6%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.24; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 71.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $86.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $801K · 41 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.4M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.