The Academy of the New Church

What it reported doing in 2024

The academy of the new church first established a museum in 1878 for the purpose of using artifacts as instructive illustrations of ancient religion and mythology. With the gift of glencairn, the former home of raymond and mildred pitcairn, and raymond pitcairn's personal art collections to the academy of the new church in 1980, the academy museum's collection were merged with those of the pitcairn family and moved to glencairn to create glencairn museum, which opened to the public in january 1982. As the academy's museum, glencairn museum's mission has essentially remained unchanged since 1878-to interpret art and artifacts from a range of historical periods and cultures-past and present-as expressions of religious belief and practice, with a special focus on stewarding and interpreting art and artifacts that illustrate new church beliefs and practices. The museum's current mission statement, approved by the academy of the new church's board of trustees in october 2025 is "to interpret art and artifacts as expressions of religious belief and practice, and to preserve glencairn as a national historic landmark." as a member of the academy of the new church, the museum interprets how the collection and historic home illustrate the beliefs of the new church and the lived practice of these beliefs. The museum invites engagement with its mission through galleries and exhibitions, education and tours, research and publications, and preservation and conservation.glencairn museum is recognized internationally for its remarkable collection of medieval sculpture and stained glass, purchased largely in the 1920s by pitcairn as inspirational models for the artists and craftsmen who were building and decorating bryn athyn cathedral. In addition to its renowned medieval collection, glencairn houses art and artifacts from the ancient near east, ancient egypt, and classical greece and rome, with modest asian, islamic, and indigenous american collections. As a member of the academy of the new church, glencairn museum is associated with bryn athyn college of the new church and the academy of the new church secondary schools. In october 2008, glencairn, cairnwood, bryn athyn cathedral, and cairncrest were designated a national historic landmark district by the secretary of the interior. As defined by the national park service, national landmarks are places that "have meaning for all americans." the four buildings of the bryn athyn historic district-including glencairn-were honored for their use of unique designs, symbolism, and building materials at the highest national achievement.glencairn regularly offers guided tours, permanent and temporary exhibitions, annual festivals, workshops, concerts, lectures, and special events for the general public, as well as educational programs for both the academy of the new church and local and regional schools, including elementary, secondary, and homeschool groups. Glencairn museum serves as a valuable educational resource for bryn athyn college of the new church and the academy of the new church secondary schools, while welcoming over 12,000 visitors and students through its mission-based public programming.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 87.8%; rating input score 88
• Program expense ratio: 76.7%; rating input score 77
• Fundraising efficiency: $28.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
  • Requires narrative reports: Limited
  • Conducts field audits: Limited
  • May suspend future funding: Limited
  • Requires financial reports: Limited
  • Conducts site visits: Limited
  • Requires grant agreements: Limited
  • May require repayment: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 14th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • 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: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 15.1%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.28; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings