Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510185873
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Essex, MA, USA
Phone
9787687541
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$334,918
Expenses
$381,405
Assets
$1,256,789
Liabilities
$13,969

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LOUIS SOMMA (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)
  • PETER LUNN (VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • WHITNEY VAN DYKE (CLERK/DIRECTOR)
  • EDWARD WATKINSON (TREASURER)
  • ALISON TAYLOR (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Provide a center for education, preservation, and study of traditional essex shipbuilding and the community that has supported it for over 300 years. We value the skills, creativity, learning abilities, and connectedness to their environment of the essex shipbuilders and we believe that building a clear understanding and appreciation of their unique craftsmanship serves as a valuable model for us today.

What it reported doing in 2024

Society programs preserve historical shipbuilding objects, rare photographs, records, and documents. Society sponsors lectures, education programs, films, seminars, and excursions for its members and the general public.

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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.9%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.3; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $297K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.