Somerville Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
046079655
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Somerville, MA, USA
Phone
6176669810
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$600,820
Expenses
$869,938
Assets
$4,289,576
Liabilities
$119,622

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BARBARA MANGUM (PRESIDENT)
  • STEPHEN MACKEY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • REGINA PISA (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • BARBARA MANGUM (PRESIDENT)
  • STEPHEN MACKEY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • REGINA PISA (VICE PRESIDENT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

As the only membership supported, community-based cultural institution of its kind in somerville, the somerville museum is the city of somerville's mirror, playing a central role in preserving the past, reflecting the present, and helping to shape the future of this diverse urban community of 81,000. Through its innovative programming, the museum seeks to engage our audience in an on-going dialogue with local artists, scholars, and educators with the larger aim of fostering cultural education and understanding.

What it reported doing in 2024

Exhibitions: "the art of the festival" (jan 18 - march 30, 2025)"first look open studios" (april 11 - may 15, 2024)events: 3/27/25 closing curator tour3/16/25 somerville museum volunteer brunch3/1/25 curator tour with bruce owens march 25 100,000 tsha tsha march madness challenge (children)2/14/25 valentine's day mixer2/26/25 preserving black history panel in collaboration with the city's racial and social justice department2/23/25 duo maresienne concert2/9/25 somerville jatra! The ultimate nepalese folk rock experience with the muss2/8/25 curator tour with bruce owens1/22/25 community curator information session1/16/25 "the art of the festival" re-opening reception1/1/25 249th flag raising at prospect hill 12/13/24 somerville museum annual meeting and holiday party12/8/24 duo maresienne concert11/11/24 veterans day remembrance ceremony11/3/24 tavern talk: "vitamin b for victory: how beer helped win world war ii" with dan breen10/27/24 duo maresienne concert10/20/24 ghosts of somerville9/29/24 tufts community day9/21/24 fluff festival9/1/25 spark of the revolution: the 250th anniversary of the powder alarm family event8/11/24 tavern talk: the 190th anniversary of the ursuline convent burning with nancy schultzsummer/fall 2025 - docent openings at powder house, prospect hill and milk row cemetery6/27/24 reading frederick douglass at bow market6/1/24 volunteer meet & greet5/23/24 talk: how to lose an empire: the road to the powder alarm5/12/24 duo maresienne concert5/11/24 people's history walk of davis & ball squares5/11/24 elfland workshop: crafting fairy homes & elf abodes5/4/24 jane's walk: the evolution of duck village4/15/24 patriot's day colonial fair

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 79% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 99
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.9%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $403.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -44.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.93; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 59.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $852K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $492K reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.