Historical Society of Princeton

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
226074979
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Princeton, NJ, USA
Phone
6099216748
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,090,144
Expenses
$837,257
Assets
$8,356,855
Liabilities
$94,373

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DOUGLAS CHIA (PRESIDENT)
  • ELIZABETH MONROE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (START APRIL 2025))
  • SARAH TAGGART (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (END APRIL 2025))

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH TAGGART (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (END APRIL 2025)): $45,600 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH MONROE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (START APRIL 2025)): $43,846 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The society preserves and interprets princeton's history through educational programming that uses its historic sites, collections, and exhibits to connect the past to contemporary issues and community life.

What it reported doing in 2025

The historical society of princeton (hsp) maintained and interpreted its historic farmstead and completed restoration of the wagon shed in 2025. The museum welcomed 513 visitors during the year. The society offered 18 outreach programs and 109 tours. Virtual outreach programs and online exhibitions reached 1,027 participants. School programs served 707 local students. Public programs and lectures reached 1,792 attendees, and walking tours included 1,851 participants. Hsp also responded to 162 research inquiries. The public accessed the society's digital collections 13,775 times, and hsp added three new acquisitions to its collections. These activities advance hsp's mission by preserving and interpreting princeton's history and making it accessible to diverse audiences.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.8%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 76.5%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th 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: 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: 23.2%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.98; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.8% of revenue deployed · 76.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $640K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $46K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.