Not an Alternative Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204018630
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Blauvelt, NY, USA
Phone
9174265562
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,087,612
Expenses
$496,275
Assets
$1,315,040
Liabilities
$32,934

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARY A ECONOMOPOULOS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • Judith LeBlanc Caddo (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARY A ECONOMOPOULOS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $82,659 total reported compensation
  • JASON JONES (CREATIVE DIRECTOR): $78,131 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Not An Alternative engages the public through arts, culture, education, and narrative-change initiatives that address environmental and social issues and advance the public good.

What it reported doing in 2024

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS and PROGRAM: The Natural History Museum (a program of the 501c3 nonprofit Not An Alternative) produces exhibitions, films, public programs, and educational initiatives that draw on art, science, public history, and cultural organizing to address environmental and social issues. Working with frontline communities, artists, scientists, and scholars, the museum develops award-winning exhibitions, narrative-change projects, and public scholarship that educate the public, foster deeper understanding, and support the protection of natural and cultural heritage.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 32.5%; rating input score 33
  • Program expense ratio: 71.3%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 54.4%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.65; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.4%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 32.5% of revenue deployed · 71.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $354K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $83K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.