Oregon Historical Society

What it reported doing in 2025

Research library: the Oregon historical society's research library is an invaluable resource for learning about the past and providing context on the present. The library preserves the world's largest collection of Oregon-related materials, documenting the people, places, and events that have shaped Oregon's history. Visitors can enjoy broad access to these materials, both in the library's renovated reading room and online through ohs's digital collections and digital history resources.continued on schedule o.these collections broaden and enrich the understanding and interpretation of the cultural, political, religious, social, economic, scientific, and technological life in Oregon. The research library online catalog is the primary point of discovery for researchers seeking to use its holdings. Archival collections are also described in more detail in archives west, an online consortial resource for academic and research libraries in the pacific northwest and mountain states. The library's digital archive, ohs digital collections, provides direct online access worldwide to a selection of ohs's library materials. A robust suite of digital history websites, including the Oregon history project, the Oregon encyclopedia, and the Oregon history wayfinder, provide primary sources and authoritative content that support education and research, with broad appeal to a general audience. The research library provides research support to all ohs programs and departments and collaborates widely with community partners from around the state. The library is free and open to everyone, no appointment necessary, and reference staff assist thousands of researchers annually, in person and remotely. Ohs also publishes the Oregon historical quarterly (ohq), which brings well-researched, well-written history about Oregon and the pacific northwest to both scholars and general readers. Ohq amplifies knowledge and perspectives that traditional scholarship has often silenced and sparks relevant conversations about history. The Oregon historical quarterly published a special issue in fall 2025, "human experience in the Oregon great basin," in which authors explore land and resources, smoking pipes and tobacco use, collaborative archaeological practices, people and climate, conserving elk with archaeology, and decolonizing archaeology through indigenous collaboration.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 89.2%; rating input score 89
• Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
• Fundraising efficiency: $7.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -12.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.1; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings