Friends of the Eastern California Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770114655
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2018, Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Independence, CA, USA
Rating
48
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$77,823
Expenses
$17,802
Assets
$388,772

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Roberta Harlan (Vice President)
  • Tina Biorn (President)
  • Mary Roper (Past President)

People named in this filing

  • Roberta Harlan (Vice President)
  • Tina Biorn (President)
  • Rosanne Lampariello (Secretary)

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

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Friends of the Eastern California Museum FECM is a nonprofit organization that provides short and long term financial and volunteer support to the Eastern California Museum ECM. Working in collaboration with ECM FECM supports ECMs mission to preserve and interpret the natural and cultural history of Inyo County and the Eastern Sierra from Death Valley to Mono Lake California. Contributions to FECM are used to aid in increasing ECMs value as a public educational institution to sponsor educational programs that encourage public awareness of Inyo Countys rich and diverse heritage and to provide monetary in-kind and volunteer help for ECM operations and programs.

What it reported doing in 2025

A Journey Through Nevadas Past: Guided Tours of Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum and the Marjorie Russell Clothing & Textile Research Center. Chris Ann Gibbons Collections Curator and Melanie Smokey Education Curator of the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum lead tours respectively of the school itself its landscaped grounds and unique stone architecture and of the Museum and Cultural Center including its gallery and Research Room which houses archival documents photographs and publications about Stewarts history. Curator Jan Loverin shared valuable knowledge of the outstanding collection of historic costumes and textiles stored in the Marjorie Russell Clothing & Textile Research Center of the Nevada State Museum. Jan also shared her collection management and best practices expertise.

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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 6
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 4%; rating input score 4
  • Program expense ratio: 9%; rating input score 9

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 77.1%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 21.84; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -24.6% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.2% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 4% of revenue deployed · 9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 6 of 6 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 4/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.