Museum of Wisconsin Art Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391017647
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
West Bend, WI, USA
Phone
2623349638
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,605,736
Expenses
$3,097,351
Assets
$8,328,203
Liabilities
$237,582

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CLAIRE ROLFS (PRESIDENT)
  • JUDY MOON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LAURIE WINTERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURIE WINTERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $162,033 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The museum of Wisconsin art celebrates the value, diversity, and uniqueness of the visual arts and artists of Wisconsin. This is achieved by collecting, conserving, documenting, exhibiting, and promoting aesthetic understanding of the visual arts of Wisconsin.

What it reported doing in 2025

The museum's permanent collection represents more than three hundred artists, spans two hundred years of history, and includes over five thousand works of art in every imaginable medium. Informed by the region's cultural heritage and diverse population, mowa is a vibrant hub for contemporary artists, socially relevant exhibitions, and pioneering member initiatives. The museum's primary venue rests along the milwaukee river in downtown west bend, Wisconsin. Mowa's main campus has been drawing visitors and tourists from the far corners of the state and beyond. The museum's satellite mowa | dtn is in saint kate the arts hotel in downtown milwaukee's cultural district. In addition to its primary venues, mowa partners with community organizations to make its programs and collections accessible and free of charge in neighborhoods throughout the state.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -18.9%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.69; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $162K · 24 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.