Georgia Museums Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201234015
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Cartersville, GA, USA
Phone
6787210251
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,338,398
Expenses
$9,521,404
Assets
$66,690,411
Liabilities
$1,271,647

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Seth Hopkins (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - BOOTH)
  • Jonathan Oscher (Vice president)
  • Lorraine Mcclain (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Seth Hopkins (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - BOOTH): $210,536 total reported compensation
  • Cathy Lee Eckert (Chief Operating Officer): $197,120 total reported compensation
  • Jonathan Oscher (Vice president): $16,671 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Georgia museums, inc. Is a Georgia nonprofit organization which operates the bartow history museum ("bhm"), booth western art museum, tellus science museum and savoy automobile museum. The booth educates, entertains and inspires growth through the exploration of western art, popular culture, and american heritage in a welcoming environment. The bhm's mission is to preserve bartow county's history, educate a diverse community of students and visitors about its unique heritage, and to celebrate its sense of place through exhibits, programs and outreach activities presented in an engaging and pleasant manner. Tellus' mission is "because science matters, we engage, educate and inspire visitors to make scientific connections through dynamic exhibits and enriching experiences." the mission of savoy automobile museum is to "provide opportunities for visitors to explore the history and diversity of automobiles through changing exhibits, educational programs and engaging experiences."

What it reported doing in 2024

Booth Western Art Museum is a 120,000 square-foot museum with galleries of western contemporary art. Additional galleries feature Presidential letters and photographs, American West art, and fine art photography. In addition to the permanent galleries, there are four galleries with temporary exhibits. Booth offers evening lectures, art for lunch programs, and art classes at the nearby Booth Art Academy regularly during the year. The museum also has a nearby satellite gallery that sells artwork from local artists, as well as prints, posters, and books. During fiscal year 2025, 35,886 individuals visited the museum. During the school year 2024-2025, 16,639 students participated in an educational program or experience. The Booth Western Art Museum has 1,572 active members.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 33
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.7%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 25%; rating input score 25; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 28.6%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.2% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.7% of revenue deployed · 72.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $211K · 7 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $641K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.