Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942989004
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4157775455
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,196,397
Expenses
$1,855,506
Assets
$3,694,299
Liabilities
$1,669,312

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Roberto Ordenana (Executive Dir.): $166,689 total reported compensation
  • Daniel Bao Finance (Director): $40,529 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The GLBT Historical Society collects, preserves, exhibits and makes available to the public materials and knowledge to support and promote understanding of LGBTQ history, culture and arts in all their diversity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public Exhibitions - The GLBT Historical Society Museum in San Francisco remains a key setting for the GLBT Historical Society to share our past with LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ publics and to advocate for the preservation of queer history and culture. In 2024, we maintained our COVID-19 safety precautions, continuing to require masks for all guests and staff in the space but no longer requiring proof of vaccination. We presented 3 new exhibitions in the museum space and continued re-building our in-person public programs calendar, hosting 15 in-person public programs and exhibition 4 opening receptions, as well as 1 online workshop. We welcomed nearly 60 schools and community organizations for group tours and nearly 8,000 individual guests visiting the museum. We continue to be specifically guided by the areas of strategic focus as outlined in the society's five-year strategic plan: Women, bisexual people, transgender people, people with disabilities, Black people, Native/Indigenous people, Asian Americans, Latinx people.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 43.5%; rating input score 43
  • Program expense ratio: 73.6%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.1%; rating input score 99; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 42%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.99; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 43.5% of revenue deployed · 73.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $167K · 19 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $102K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.