Telfair Museum of Art Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
580610074
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Savannah, GA, USA
Phone
9127908874
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,841,959
Expenses
$9,223,136
Assets
$62,369,455
Liabilities
$1,120,180

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID BRENNEMAN (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • BENJAMIN SIMONS (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - FORMER)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSEPH RUDDER (CFO/COO): $192,820 total reported compensation
  • BENJAMIN SIMONS (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - FORMER): $158,373 total reported compensation
  • DAVID BRENNEMAN (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $116,809 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 achieve our mission of offering compelling expressions of visual culture, we concentrate on four areas: 1) collections - architectural landmarks and focused art collections that reflect a history of embracing contemporary visual culture; 2) education - programs and activities for adults and children that serve as catalysts for creativity and learning; 3) exhibitions - presentations of regional, national, and international significance that provide access to art of diverse eras and cultures; & 4) community engagement - partnerships and initiatives that strengthen ties to diverse audiences and encourage active engagement in community life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education programs - 7,135 pre-k through college students participated in in-person field trips to telfair museums in 2024. These included the museum's in-person tours of the exhibition norman rockwell & peers: illustrating childhood for 3,800 4th grade students of savannah-chatham county public schools and an additional program for 600 pre-k students from local public schools and head start. 3,900 individuals of all ages and abilities participated in outreach via 188 classes for seniors at local senior center, youth at community centers, and individuals at health and social services partner locations throughout the community. 800 participants participated in 61 adult and 22 youth studio art classes and summer camps. 13 free lectures organized by the museum were attended by over 800 people. 6 free family days offered on saturdays or sundays were attended by a total of 6,839 visitors of all ages in 2024. 7 education exhibitions were held in the museum's community gallery, including an annual exhibition of work by veterans and participants from local health and social service organizations. The latter exhibition also included art produced in outreach workshops for incarcerated individuals. Drop-in studio art-making activities offered each saturday were attended by more than 2,300 participants of all ages.

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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.3%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.76; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $193K · 36 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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 10/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.