Southwest Seattle Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911297010
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2063500999
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$128,815
Expenses
$168,655
Assets
$936,210
Liabilities
$1,421

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kathy Duncan (President)
  • Jason Plourde (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Elizabeth Rudrud (Executive Dir.): $60,138 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 mission of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society is to promote inclusive local history through education, preservation, and advocacy. The Southwest Seattle area includes all of the West Seattle Peninsula form Puget Sound on the west to the Duwamish River on the east, South to Southwest 128th Street.

What it reported doing in 2024

Museum Admission and Exhibits: SWSHS provides free admission to the Log House Museum. It hosted two exhibits in 2024: Creek of Hope, in partnership with Duwamish Alive Coalition and Delridge Neighborhoods development Association and Seattle's Forest: The West Duwamish Greenbelt in partnership with the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group and Ridge 2 River Coalition/Duwamish Tribe. SWSHS welcomed 2,659 visitors in 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% 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.

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: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.7%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $55.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -30.9%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.55; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 35.7%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.7% of revenue deployed · 74.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $125K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.