Seward House Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262321872
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-PF 2017
Location
Auburn, NY, USA
Phone
3152521283
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,686,781
Expenses
$1,387,886
Assets
$15,855,231
Liabilities
$20,374

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kenneth Entenmann (President)
  • Jennifer Alfieri (Vice President)
  • Billye Chabot (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Billye Chabot (Executive Director): $101,340 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To preserve and memorializing the historic Seward House Museum, the former home of William Seward. The Organization is charged with preserving and memorializing the material and intellectual legacy of William H. Seward and William H. Seward Jr. The Museum is dedicated to interpreting, perpetuating, promulgating, enhancing and serving as a study center for the substantial contributions which William H. Seward made to the State of New York and to the Nation.

What it reported doing in 2025

Preserving and memorializing the historic seward house museum, the former home of william seward. The organization is charged with preserving and memorializing the material and intellectual legacyof william h. Seward and william h. Seward jr. The museum is dedicated to interperting, perpetuating, promulatgating, enhancing and serving as a study center for the substantial contributions which william h. Seward made to the state of New York and the nation.

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 - 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: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: 17.7%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.42; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.9% of revenue deployed · 73% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $101K · 17 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $297K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • 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.
  • 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 21/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.