Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943045948
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4157508902
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$53,329,543
Expenses
$57,481,779
Assets
$28,208,594
Liabilities
$17,296,838

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

Leadership & pay

62 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THOMAS CAMPBELL (DIRECTOR OF MUSEUMS AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • THOMAS CAMPBELL (DIRECTOR OF MUSEUMS AND CEO): $1,208,885 total reported compensation
  • JASON SEIFER (CHIEF FINANCIAL AND ADMIN OFFICER): $428,191 total reported compensation
  • DANIELLE STGERMAIN (CHIEF PHILANTHROPY OFFICER): $337,267 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 corporation of the fine arts museums (cofam) is a nonprofit public benefit corporation formed in 1987 responsible to operate the de young museum and the legion of honor and to raise and maintain funds for the museums' support. Cofam conducts this work on behalf of the fine arts museum of san francisco (famsf), which is a charitable trust department of the city and county of san francisco (city). The city owns the land and buildings in which the museums operate, and most of the collections, and provides partial operating support through an annual appropriation for their care and maintenance. Cofam accomplishes the mission of famsf through exhibition of the permanent collections, special exhibitions, scholarly publications, education programs, care and research of the collections, and public programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education and public programs - cofam offers an extensive array of education and public programs, including free saturdays, free school group visits and programming, and family programs. We partner with community groups, advisors and artists to create high quality and relevant programs. We also provide educational training, classroom materials and curricula, and support to art professionals, students, researchers, and teachers. Cofam continues to innovate its education and public programs to assure everyone feels welcome and comfortable at the museums, and able to access and digest information in a variety of ways. The museums offer free access to special exhibitions several times each year on access mondays reserved for visitors with disabilities. These programs serve over 200,000 visitors each year.

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 96% 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.7%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: -7.8%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.61; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.7% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 46 of 46 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $45.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 62 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.