Gore Place

What it reported doing in 2024

Preservation and restoration - the mansion was designed by rebecca gore and french architect jacques-guillaume legrand after christopher gore had completed diplomatic duty in england. The 50 room brick structure is the oldest surviving elected governor's mansion in Massachusetts and is an outstanding example of american neoclassical (federal) architecture. There are high ceilings, marble floors, oval rooms, curved doors and moldings, a full-spiral cantilevered staircase and large windows. Gore place has a program of scholarly research to better understand and interpret how the gores lived on the estate and to guide interpretive planning and programs. A master landscape plan and a strategic plan for the gore place farm guide future preservation of the landscape. Year round education and interpretation programs at gore place attract more than 15,000 visitors each year. Tours in the mansion have multi-sensory touchable objects and guides who are trained in giving tours to visitors with a variety of abilities. There are also costumed guided evening tours. Other programs include seasonal exhibits and lectures, self-guided take-a-walk backpacks for outdoor nature exploration, an outdoor story trail with illustrated pages from a child's book that changes with the season, a book nook and benches to encourage reading, winter snowshoeing, preschool play times, an annual community book sale, outdoor scavenger hunts, dramas, workshops, concerts, and teas. Publications include a biography of the gores, the house servant's directory, by robert roberts, who was a butler to the gores, a dvd on the gore story, a self-guided walking tour, and several smaller publications on the gore story. The 50 acre gore estate is maintained as an agrarian landscape as it would have been during the gore occupancy. There are period varieties of sheep and poultry as well as organically grown raised bed. Eggs and meat are sold on site. Horticulture and agriculture workshops offer advice and instruction for local gardeners, while corn roasts, outdoor performances and wagon rides encourage visitors to enjoy the open space and animals. Community groups use the grounds for programs that require open land, such as cub scout rocket day, archery lessons, chamber of commerce annual barbeque, and the traveling vietnam veterans moving memorial wall. The gore place farm is a unique community resource serving more than 15,000 visitors each year.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 33.4%; rating input score 33
• Program expense ratio: 59.8%; rating input score 60
• Fundraising efficiency: $35.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 54.3%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.64; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings