Golden Age Air Museum
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 232901557
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bethel, PA, USA
- Phone
- 7179339566
- Rating
- 63
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- History Museums
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $129,539
- Expenses
- $102,490
- Assets
- $1,321,746
- Liabilities
- $660
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Paul D Dougherty Jr (Chairman/President)
People named in this filing
- Paul D Dougherty Jr (Chairman/President)
- Caroline D Dougherty (Director/Secretary)
- Gerry Wild (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
The mission of the Golden Age Air Museum is to entertain visitors and educate them about the early days of aviation, through its special events and daily operations. The museum offers the chance to explore the past, come and learn how the early aviators flew, what they flew and learn the lost art of early aircraft construction.
What it reported doing in 2024
Museum where the visiting public can view full size operational aircraft and automobiles, as well as a display of artifacts from the Golden Age.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 6
- Sustainability: 77
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 52.3%; rating input score 52
- Program expense ratio: 77.1%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $40.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: 20.9%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.9; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 52.3% of revenue deployed · 77.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $79K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.