Portland Children's Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
931278089
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032236500
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$307,370
Expenses
$2,509,675
Assets
$758,071
Liabilities
$117,213

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JANI IVERSON (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • RUTH SHELLY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • RUTH SHELLY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $126,574 total reported compensation
  • JANI IVERSON (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $3,995 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Portland children's museum's mission is to develop innovative problem-solvers through playful learning experiences that strengthen relationships between children and their world. This is accomplished through interactive exhibits, studio experiences, programs, special events, and outreach activities that strengthen public education by provoking fresh ideas concerning environments where creativity, imagination, and the wonder of learning thrive.

What it reported doing in 2020

The museum center for learning provides professional development to school districts, teaching professionals and organizations using the opal school as a basis for their presentations. This is accomplished with workshops and the annual symposium which are hosted by the center on site, online classes and blog subscriptions, and consulting contracts. This program is also closed.

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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 11
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.4%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 66.5%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -716.5%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.3; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.6% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.8% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.4% of revenue deployed · 66.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2012 to 2020
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.