The Corporation for Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541258296
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Forest, VA, USA
- Phone
- 4345251806
- Rating
- 64
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- History Museums
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,085,131
- Expenses
- $2,394,676
- Assets
- $20,600,405
- Liabilities
- $2,072,832
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ALYSON M RAMSEY (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- ALYSON M RAMSEY (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $155,602 total reported compensation
- COLE HARDEN (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND AD): $96,149 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 preserve thomas jefferson's personal retreat and plantation, to inspire exploration of his enduring legacy, and to tell the stories of the free and enslaved people who lived and worked at poplar forest.
What it reported doing in 2024
Investigation and restoration of jefferson-designed buildings and other historic structures at his retreat (1806). Includes costs other than those capitalized.
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
SUPPORTED - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 45
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 78
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 37.5%; rating input score 38
- Program expense ratio: 59.5%; rating input score 60
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- 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: 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: 41.4%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.6; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 37.5% of revenue deployed · 59.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $156K · 26 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $134K reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 38/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.