Northwest African American Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760835379
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2065186000
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,880,195
Expenses
$1,687,975
Assets
$2,816,458
Liabilities
$12,426

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • BRANDON BIRD (PRESIDENTCEO): $180,001 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 documents and exhibits historical/cultural experiences of african americans in seattle/northwest, honoring and celebrating their community tranditions in art, education, history and culture.

What it reported doing in 2025

Public programming: naam engaged in a variety of virtual and offsite educational programs in 2025 including: annual king day; juneteenth; benjamin benneker math room; interactive story time (monthly); youth curator program; grandparents day; knowledge is power book giveaway; black history month; freedom day (monthly); black santa.

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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.6%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 69%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.2%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.67; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.6% of revenue deployed · 69% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $285K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 20 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.