1940 Air Terminal Museum

Legal name: Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760612294
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Houston, Texas, US
Phone
(713) 454-1940
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$324,772
Expenses
$315,085
Assets
$110,412
Liabilities
$44,593

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KAREN NICOLAOU (PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • GEORGE HAINES (DIRECTOR): $18,438 total reported compensation

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 1940 Air Terminal Museum is to demonstrate the impact of aviation on Houston's history and economic development through the prism of architectural beauty.

What it reported doing in 2024

The 1940 air terminal museum at hobby airport celebrates the art deco air terminal turning 80 years old on september 28, 2020. Opened on september 28, 1940, the air terminal, designed by architect joseph finger, served as the administration building for the airport and supported airline operations and air traffic control functions. The first airline tenants were eastern airlines and braniff airways. In a few short years air travel grew exponentially, and the terminal ceased airline operations in 1956. The building was completely abandoned by 1978 and was left vacant until its resurgence as the 1940 air terminal museum in 2004.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 72% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.8%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 11 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $308K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $18K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.