Historic Milwaukee Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391212338
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4142777795
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$542,606
Expenses
$508,867
Assets
$377,548
Liabilities
$148,898

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KIRSTEN THOMPSON (PRESIDENT)
  • KARIN CENSKY (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • STACY SWADISH KOSMATKA (EXECUTIVE DIR.): $92,563 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Historic milwaukee, inc (hmi) is a private, non-profit educational organization, founded in 1974, whose mission is dedicated to increasing awareness of, and commitment to milwaukee's history, architecture, and the preservation of our built environment.

What it reported doing in 2025

Since 1974, historic milwaukee, inc. Has been dedicated to increasing awareness and commitment to milwaukee's history, architecture and the built environment. More than 400 hmi volunteers share a love of history, milwaukee's architectural treasures and the future of our city. Hmi draws on more than 50 years of programming expertise to deliver engaging and informative walking tours, lectures, and other educational programs. Trained volunteers deliver our tours. We offer walking tours, student tours and group and private tours. We partner with a boat tour company to staff a tour of the milwaukee river and lake Michigan. We are milwaukee's only arts nonprofit operating in the architecture and design sphere and the only nonprofit tour provider.

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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.5%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 58.9%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 64th 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: NotApplicable
    • 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: 6.2%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.74; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.5% of revenue deployed · 58.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $300K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.