Friends of Sequoyah

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271690761
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Vonore, TN, USA
Phone
4238826246
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$380,489
Expenses
$490,470
Assets
$2,273,263
Liabilities
$5,089

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • CHARLIE RHODARMER (DIRECTOR): $86,514 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 promote the understanding and appreciation of the history and culture of the cherokee indians in eastern Tennessee, particularly the life and contributions of sequoyah. The museum will collect, preserve, interpret and exhibit objects and data that support this mission.

What it reported doing in 2025

Operation of museum promoting cherokee indian of eastern Tennessee history, with emphasis on sequoyah. Programs used to accomplish promotion of history and culture include festival, sequoyah remembrance day, lecture series, cherokee language classes, geneology workshops, and various other programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 79% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.5%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -28.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.63; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.6%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.6% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $429K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $87K · 29 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.