Skirball Cultural Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954538371
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
3104404500
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$27,491,131
Expenses
$39,657,290
Assets
$444,569,681
Liabilities
$7,693,803

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JESSICA KORNBERG (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • LESLIE JOHNSON (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHERI BERNSTEIN (VICE PRESIDENT, MUSEUM DIRECTOR)
  • JERED SETH GOLD (VICE PRESIDENT, COMM. AND MARKETING)
  • JOCELYN TETEL (VICE PRESIDENT, ADVANCEMENT)
  • MARLENE BRAGA (VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLIC PROGRAMS)

Highest reported compensation

  • JESSICA KORNBERG (PRESIDENT & CEO): $589,596 total reported compensation
  • LESLIE JOHNSON (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $335,785 total reported compensation
  • PAMELA R KOHANCHI (SECRETARY, SR VP, GEN. COUNSEL): $265,390 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 skirball cultural center is a place of meeting guided by the jewish tradition of welcoming the stranger and inspired by the american democratic ideals of freedom and equality. We welcome people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education: skirball offers k-12 school tours to its museum, arts education curriculum, and teacher trainings serving 40,000 local students free of charge. Adult education programs include book groups, docent led museum tours, applied arts classes, and lecture series.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

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: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 89.5%; rating input score 89; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -44.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.21; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.4%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $34.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $590K · 35 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.6M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 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: 14 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.