Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site

Legal name: Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311627155
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2152365111
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,386,816
Expenses
$6,850,531
Assets
$24,014,144
Liabilities
$1,137,550

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KERRY SAUTNER (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KERRY SAUTNER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $235,863 total reported compensation
  • JOEL KELLY (SR. DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT): $143,357 total reported compensation
  • SHELLY SICKBERT (DIRECTOR OF VISITORS EXPERIENCE & SALES): $123,375 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Eastern State continues to preserve the historic site—shedding light on its complicated legacy—to advance public understanding of the criminal justice system and its impact on the lives of those affected by it, to inspire a more just future.

What it reported doing in 2024

Museum and historic site programming (daytime tour program): welcoming over 259,000, visitors and students each year, eastern state offers daily, in-depth tours of our historic site to learners of all ages. Exhibitions throughout the site highlight the history of the penitentiary and the legacy of the american criminal justice system, while artist interpretations illuminate the experience and wide impact of imprisonment on individuals, families, communities, and our society. Other site activations include special themed programs, family-friendly festivals, reentry simulations, scout days, seasonal nighttime programming, and more.the eastern state center for justice education was established in 2024 to become a nationally recognized voice in criminal justice education, serving as a catalyst for workforce development and a connection point that provides opportunities for engagement, dialogue, and impact. The center's programming includes justice 101, a monthly panel discussion series examining the justice system, the collaboratory for justice education and professional development opportunities for educators, the annual summer teacher institute, and a robust library of digital resources that includes lesson plans, educator tools, and archivist-created investigations into eastern state's collections, and two workforce development programs that offer holistic professional and personal development opportunities to philadelphians.

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

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: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.6%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.3%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.51; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.5%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 74.6% of revenue deployed · 77% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $236K · 29 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $862K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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 12/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.