Proprietors of Mount Auburn Cemetery

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
041641320
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cambridge, MA, USA
Phone
6176071924
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$26,278,744
Expenses
$19,334,693
Assets
$309,656,492
Liabilities
$1,152,756

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MATTHEW STEPHENS (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MATTHEW STEPHENS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $406,381 total reported compensation
  • BETH BROWN (VP OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT): $265,145 total reported compensation
  • ANN SWEENEY (VP OF PEOPLE AND CULTURE): $248,919 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Reflecting the 1831 vision of its founders, mount auburn commemorates the dead in a landscape of exceptional beauty and tranquility; providing comfort and inspiration to the bereaved and the public as a whole; protects and improves its historic landscape, monuments, architecture, horticulture and natural resources, and; provides comprehensive cemetery services of the highest standard to persons of all faiths in so far as such services are consistent with the protection and preservation of mount auburn.

What it reported doing in 2024

Protected and improved mount auburn as an historic garden cemetery, preserving its monuments and architecture while enhancing its horticulture and natural resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 54
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 29th 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: 26.4%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.02; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $406K · 33 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.5M reported
  • Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes foreign activity, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.