Intermuseum Conservation Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
340753538
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
2166588700
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Visual Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,211,722
Expenses
$1,229,592
Assets
$1,704,410
Liabilities
$593,198

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BLAIR WHIDDEN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • HOLLY WITCHEY (EXECUTIVE DI): $100,000 total reported compensation
  • SHELIA BROWN (ACCOUNTING D): $67,678 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Intermuseum conservation association (ica-art conservation) protects, preserves, and enriches our shared heritage of art and material culture through conservation, preservation, and education.

What it reported doing in 2025

Ica-art conservation is the oldest nonprofit art conservation center in the united states, providing essential preservation services to museums, libraries, archives, universities, churches, and community organizations. Ica provides expert conservation treatment in its laboratory and on-site, along with collections assessments, surveys, custom storage and display solutions, and technical photography. The organization also assists clients with disaster response and recovery and collaborates on grant-funded preservation initiatives. Through its work, ica helps institutions protect and extend the life of cultural heritage collections for public benefit. In 2025, ica undertook a comprehensive review of its policies, procedures, and financial practices, resulting in strengthened fiscal controls, improved revenue recognition, and a more disciplined operational framework. These changes have positioned the organization for long-term sustainability and enhanced service delivery. Collections care and treatment icas conservators treat a wide range of cultural heritage materials, including paintings, murals, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, historic monuments, works on paper, rare books, archival materials, textiles, and modern synthetic objects. These services are particularly critical for small and mid-sized institutions that lack in-house conservation staff. Icas work stabilizes and preserves collections of historical, artistic, and educational significance, ensuring continued access for researchers, students, and the public education and outreach ica advances preservation knowledge through a range of education and outreach activities. In 2025, the organization offered free monthly webinars, hands-on workshops, and complimentary consultations with professional conservators. These programs support cultural institutions, students, and the general public by increasing awareness of preventive care practices and improving the long-term stewardship of collections. Icas outreach efforts expand the impact of its mission beyond direct treatment, strengthening preservation capacity across the region.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 70% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 69.9%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.5%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.39; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.4% of revenue deployed · 69.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $859K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.