El Rancho De Las Golondrinas Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203845643
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Santa Fe, NM, USA
Phone
5054712261
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,588,901
Expenses
$2,480,925
Assets
$27,503,741
Liabilities
$453,083

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DANIEL GOODMAN (MUSEUM DIREC): $133,847 total reported compensation
  • GEORGE B PALOHEIMO (DIRECTOR): $1,200 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 preserve the legacy of the land and the cultural traditions of New Mexico.

What it reported doing in 2025

El rancho de las golondrinas, inc. (the organization) is a living history museum located on 500 acres in a rural farming valley just south of santa fe, New Mexico. The museum, dedicated to the history, heritage and culture of the 18th and 19th century New Mexico, opened in 1972. Original colonial buildings on the site date from the early 1700s. In addition, historic buildings from other parts of northern New Mexico have been reconstructed at las golondrinas. Villagers clothed in the styles of the times show how life was lived on the frontier in early New Mexico. Special festivals and weekend events offer visitors an in-depth look into the celebrations, music, dance and many other aspects of life in the spanish, mexican and territorial periods of the southwest. In 2022, the museum was listed on the New Mexico state register of historic places and national register of historic places by the u.s. Department of the interior.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 55.6%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.09; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.6% of revenue deployed · 84% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 23 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $566K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.