Lyme Academy of Fine Arts

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
060942210
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Old Lyme, CT, USA
Phone
8604345232
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,292,651
Expenses
$2,410,000
Assets
$19,221,566
Liabilities
$2,161,274

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JORDON SOKOL (ARTISTIC DRCTR): $99,850 total reported compensation
  • WENDY BURY (MANAGING DRCTR): $99,850 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 lyme academy of fine arts is to teach the foundational skills of drawing, painting, and sculpture in the figurative tradition. By its commitment to training students in these skills and an engagement with contemporary discourse, the academy will empower a new generation of artists. Through its programs, the academy is committed to enriching the cultural life of the community.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2021, with fresh leadership at its helm, the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts reopened its doors to students, and welcomed a new generation of success. Under the guidance of a Board of Trustees that has clarified and sharpened the Academys mission, Artistic Direction that is inspiring a new generation of students and a Sculpture program that is the realization of the original vision of the Academys founder, sculptor Elisabeth Gordon Chandler. Artistic directors, Jordan Sokol and Amaya Gurpide have generated interest in the programs of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts that has grown steadily over the last four years.Recent major gifts have provided support to the endowment of three faculty chair positions, significant capital projects, general operating needs, and have provided the Academy with stability and growth. Key new positions, including the Charlotte Colby Danly Sculpture Chair, Managing Director, and additional staff and faculty have also contributed to growth. The Academys rebirth is evident in the increasing number of students attending, which has met and exceeded the targets set in its multi-year strategic plan. Full-time enrollment has grown from 12 students in 2021-2022, to 44 in 2024-2025, and 53 STUDENTS IN THIS ACADEMIC YEAR. The Academy is limiting its growth to roughly ten additional new students per year, which allows for a high degree of selectivity in admissions as the program grows towards its full enrollment target of 80 students in the 2028-29 academic year. The Academy also serves hundreds of students through Youth Programs, Continuing Education, Workshops and guest lectures.

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 94% 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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.8%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 21st 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: 26.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.98; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.8% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • 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.
  • 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.