Santa Fe Children's Museum Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850335070
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Santa Fe, NM, USA
Phone
5059898359
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Children's Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,307,579
Expenses
$2,018,274
Assets
$6,927,551
Liabilities
$2,676,104

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MELANIE MAXON (PRESIDENT)
  • NICOLE PEARSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • HANNAH HAUSMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HANNAH HAUSMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $93,540 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Discovering the joys of learning, play, and community. The santa fe children's museum builds upon a child's sense of joy and discovery by cultivating habits of inquiry in the arts, sciences, and humanities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Santa fe children's museum (sfcm) is a non-profit cultural institution that helps children discover the joys of learning, play, and community. For 39 years, our innovative bilingual programs and exhibits have provided hands-on exploration and informal education opportunities. Sfcm was incorporated in 1985, becoming the first children's museum in the state of New Mexico. The building, which is located on the historic armory for the arts campus in santa fe, was originally constructed in the 1930s. Today, sfcm is the only organization of its kind in the region, serving 60,000 children and families annually through dynamic exhibits, programs, and cultural events. Our key focus is to ensure "access for all" by reducing barriers and interweaving the multicultural heritage unique to New Mexico as we honor and celebrate it.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.3%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 72.7%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th 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: 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: 12.5%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.43; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.3% of revenue deployed · 72.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $94K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.