Providence Athenaeum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
050258928
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Providence, RI, USA
Phone
4014216970
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,350,621
Expenses
$1,747,621
Assets
$17,289,075
Liabilities
$100,676

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEN GAZDACKO (PRESIDENT (THROUGH 12/5/2024))
  • SUZANNE SCANLAN (VICE PRESIDENT-THROUGH 12/5, PRESIDENT-START12/5)
  • CANDY ADRIANCE (VICE PRESIDENT (START 12/5/24))
  • MATT BURRIESCI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MATT BURRIESCI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $162,494 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The providence athenaeum is an independent member-supported library and cultural center, founded in 1836 and open to the public. Having always been organized as a cultural institution for the benefit of the entire community, the athenaeum obtained recognition as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization in the 1970s. Today it continues to fulfill the intention of its founders by offering a broad range of services to a diverse public, with over 61,000 visitors in 2024-25, more than 2,600 of whom support the library directly through membership. The collections, programming, and the services we provide are of primary interest to local as well as national authors, educators, musicians, actors, poets, artists, and journalists from all walks of life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Historic preservation of collections and building: the athenaeum's collections and historic building are maintained in the spirit of its founders in order to enrich the lives of all who enter its granite walls. The athenaeum, known by its handsome greek revival building, maintains special collections that are valuable and rare. Our collections highlight the strengths of the providence athenaeum and its antecedents since 1753, in documenting the history of the book and book culture in providence during the 18th and 19th centuries. The building & grounds committee, a board committee oversees the building, furnishings, and grounds of the providence athenaeum, prioritizes the need for elective repairs or changes and makes recommendations to the board of directors on how to proceed.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 67.2%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 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: 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: 25.7%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.89; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.2% of revenue deployed · 67.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $162K · 22 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.