Grounds for Sculpture Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223694371
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Hamilton, NJ, USA
Phone
6095860616
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Arts Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$27,558,686
Expenses
$10,187,137
Assets
$98,059,533
Liabilities
$2,188,750

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gary Schneider (Executive Director)
  • Eric Ryan (President)
  • Penelope Lattimer (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Gary Schneider (Executive Director): $339,446 total reported compensation
  • Kathleen Greene (Chief Audience Officer): $211,999 total reported compensation
  • Marissa Reibstein (Chief Development Officer): $201,800 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Grounds For Sculpture combines art and beckoning spaces to welcome, surprise, and engage all visitors in the artists act of invention.

What it reported doing in 2025

ARTS EDUCATION: GFSs education programs encourage exploration, discovery, and direct engagement with the arts. Our wellness related programs continued to be highly attended, leveraging the unique healing potential of art and nature. They included yoga, tai chi, meditation, mindfulness, sound baths and wellness walks. Adult education programs also include workshops to learn new skills but not limited to guided tours, immersive introductions to a wide variety of art making materials and techniques, courses that encourage both skill development and relationship building, and seasonal art and horticulture offerings. Family programs provide opportunities to share experiences that include hands-on artmaking, storytelling and guided exploration of our galleries and gardens. There are over 11,000 students for group visits each year. Our wellness related programs continued to be highly attended leveraging the unique healing potential of art and nature.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 40
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 26.3%; rating input score 26
  • Program expense ratio: 61.7%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 86.7%; rating input score 87; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 63%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.63; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 26.3% of revenue deployed · 61.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $339K · 30 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $999K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 35 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.