Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042493347
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lexington, MA, USA
Phone
7818616559
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,692,198
Expenses
$3,716,993
Assets
$59,669,104
Liabilities
$308,642

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

Leadership & pay

56 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • WHEELER WALTER F (TRSTEE/PRESI): $362,846 total reported compensation
  • HECHT KEVIN (TRUSTEE/DEPU): $189,846 total reported compensation
  • ELLIOT RICHARD W (TRUSTEE/ML E): $188,228 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To engage and inspire, through its exhibits, programs, and collections, a knowledge and appreciation of americas history, heritage, culture and traditions with a focus on the nations formative years, freemasonry and fraternalism. It will build interest and support for it's mission by emphasizing themes of liberty, patriotism, and personal and civic virtues. A non-circulating research library and significant archives will be maintained for use by the public.

What it reported doing in 2024

Exhibitions - the nhm develops and presents exhibitions about american history and culture for a broad audience. Approximately 80,000 people visit the museum every year.

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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 89.1%; rating input score 89; 20th 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: -0.7%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.05; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.7%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 49 of 55 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $363K · 56 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $333K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • 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: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.