Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841366092
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3032987554
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,717,761
Expenses
$5,797,923
Assets
$23,399,340
Liabilities
$4,481,785

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • NORA ABRAMS (EXECUTIVE DI): $255,000 total reported compensation
  • SARAH MERRILL (DEPUTY DIR 9): $163,479 total reported compensation
  • SARAH KATE BAIE (DEPUTY DIR P): $136,713 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 museum of contemporary art denver is an innovative forum for contemporary art that inspires and challenges all audiences, creating understanding and dialogue about art of our time.

What it reported doing in 2024

Mca denver focuses on providing educational programs that provide audiences the unique opportunity to explore art and intellectual thought in conjunction with the richness of everyday life. The mixed taste lecture series mines the local community and capitalizes on the diverse areas of knowledge in the region while encouraging audiences to reflect on how the topics presented relate to their lives. The conversion series connects the community with innovative artists, promoting contemporary discourse by bringing internationally renowned artists to the forefront of public experience. The teen council provides teens the opportunity to interact with lending artists in a collaborative environment, creating work and gaining unparalleled insight about art.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 67% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.5%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 74.1%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: -22.9%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.04; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.5% of revenue deployed · 74.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $255K · 28 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $332K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.