Oregon Council for the Humanities

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930716419
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032410543
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,842,225
Expenses
$2,141,539
Assets
$5,168,875
Liabilities
$510,627

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ADAM DAVIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ADAM DAVIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $168,184 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Oregon humanities is an independent nonprofit organization formed in 1978. Oregon humanities connects people and communities through conversation, storytelling, and participatory programs to inspire understanding and collaborative change. (continued on sch. O) the impact of this work is profound: participants listen, question, rethink, and consider more deeply and, as a result, act from a place of knowledge, compassion, connectedness, and personal responsibility. Oregon humanities is an independent nonprofit organization formed in 1978. Oregon humanities is an independent affiliate of the national endowment for the humanities (neh) and is supported by grants from neh and gifts from individuals and foundations throughout Oregon.

What it reported doing in 2024

Public programs include the following: the conversation project: the conversation project brings oregonians together to talk -- across differences, beliefs, and backgrounds -- about important issues and ideas. Nonprofits, community groups, and businesses apply to host programs on the topics relevant to their communities. Conversations are led by facilitators who are trained to connect the topic to the local community and to challenge participants to think in new ways. (continued on schedule o)public programs include the following: consider this: consider this is a series of on-stage conversations that happen in portland and in cities around the state. The series brings people together in theaters, pubs, cafes, and other venues around Oregon.so much together: so much together is a series of workshops celebrating the abundance of collaborative and imaginative work happining in Oregon and throughout the pacific northwest. These workshops blend presentation, conversation, and activities to build understanding of how great work is shaping lives and the land in our region. Facilitation training: Oregon humanities trains groups of people around the state and the nation to lead challenging conversations in their communities and workplaces.special projects: in addition to ongoing regular programming, Oregon humanities collaborates with and learns from groups and organization doing meaningful work across the state.

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 97% 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 - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 73.8%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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; 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: 24.7%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.41; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56% of revenue deployed · 73.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $168K · 26 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.