The Contemporary Jewish Museum

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule o.activity 1: cjm audiencesin fiscal year 2025, the cjm accomplished its mission to explore and foster appreciation of the diversity of jewish experience through its exhibitions, education programs, and the strategic distribution of digital media.key fiscal year 2025 metrics include:8,264 on-site visitors400,581 online visitorsexhibitionsfiscal year 2025 exhibitions and artist programs covered a wide range of art and artists.nicki green: firmament. (september 5, 2024-december 15, 2024) transdisciplinary artist nicki green's first museum solo exhibition delved into questions of identity, transformation, and reinvention of jewish traditions through new and existing artworks in ceramic, installation, and fiber. Artworks featured motifs that invoked fermentation, mycelium, and reinvented ritual as metaphors for regeneration, transformation, and resilience - concepts that have informed jewish thinking and practice for thousands of years. Looted. (september 5, 2024-december 15, 2024). This multimedia installation reflected on the history of polish-owned paintings stolen during the nazi occupation in world war ii. Initiated by polish artist dorota mytych and created with painting collaborators tracy grubbs (san francisco), jessica houston (canada), and marcia teusink (uk), the installation featured the four artists jointly recreating a total of fifty-nine looted artworks based on documentation from the polish government catalogue of wartime losses. California jewish open. (june 6, 2024-december 15, 2024). The museum's first major open call exhibition invited jewish-identifying artists in California to submit artworks in response to a central question: how are artists looking to the many aspects of jewish culture, identity, and community to foster, reimagine, hold, or discover connection? The resulting exhibition brought together the work of forty-seven artists reflecting on their connection to judaism, the world, and their own personal histories. Leah rosenberg: when one sees a rainbow. (june 6, 2024-december 15, 2024). Bay area artist leah rosenberg transformed the cjm's yud gallery through light and color, creating a welcoming environment for visitors to reflect, rest, and wonder. Inspired by the jewish tradition of reciting a blessing upon seeing a rainbow, visitors were invited to create their own responses to the colors on view in the gallery. L'chaim: celebrating our building at 15. (february 16, 2023- december 15, 2024). The cjm's celebrated building, designed by world-renowned architect daniel libeskind, has served as an artistic, community, and cultural generator since its opening in 2008. This exhibition delves into the deep jewish symbolism imbued in the building's architectural forms, allowing visitors to unlock their meaning. Inspired by the hebrew phrase l'chaim, the architecture embodies the values, traditions, and ideas that the museum explores within its walls.retroblakesberg: the music never stopped. (august 31, 2023-july 28, 2024). The exhibition invited visitors to explore some of the most notable moments in san francisco's rock and roll history through the lens of san francisco-based photographer jay blakesberg. The show featured 215 electrifying images of the grateful dead, joni mitchell, tracy chapman, soundgarden, carlos santana, and many more.annie albagli: we become [vessels]. (march 23, 2023-july 28, 2024). San francisco artist annie albagli's video and sculpture drew on jewish ritual, her egyptian jewish ancestry, and the geology of the marin headlands, conveying the elemental forces of faith and nature.program and education highlightsthe cjm is among the bay area's most important arts and jewish education resources for k-12 students and teachers. All tours and accompanying artmaking workshops are free. During fiscal year 2025, k-12 school programs were offered both online and in person. Interactive tours of exhibitions and the cjm's building led by professional educators are the centerpiece o

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 64.3%; rating input score 64
• Fundraising efficiency: $1.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • 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: 95%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -129.5%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.24; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -4.5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings