Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951855640
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
La Jolla, CA, USA
Phone
8584543541
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,721,132
Expenses
$13,688,922
Assets
$138,866,157
Liabilities
$14,261,430

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVE STRAUSS (PRESIDENT)
  • MELISSA GARFIELD BARTELL (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MARYANNE PFISTER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KATHRYN KANJO (DAVID C. COPLEY DIRECTOR AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHRYN KANJO (DAVID C. COPLEY DIRECTOR AND CEO): $455,582 total reported compensation
  • REKHA KAPANIA (CFO & COO): $182,611 total reported compensation
  • APRIL FARRELL (DIRECTOR OF EARNED REVENUE): $161,289 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 san diego invites all audiences to experience our world, our region, and ourselves through the prism of contemporary art.

What it reported doing in 2024

Mcasd's intergenerational arts education programs serves audiences with enriching material developed from both the museum's permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. Mcasd's signature extended school partnership (esp) connects museum educators with cohorts of students for gallery tours, learning workshops and ultimately creative showcases that connect directly back to school curriculum. Youth audiences are also served through the teen arts collective and monthly family play days. Mcasd received funding to support a creative aging initiative called reflections which allowed older adults an opportunity for learning and community building at the museum. In addition, mcasd educators lead specialized tours, thematic workshops, and facilitate lecture style discussions for the community at large.

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 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 61.9%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -695.3%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.14; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 61.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $8.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $456K · 35 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.