The Foundation for the New Jersey Hall of Fame Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 823388371
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Newark, NJ, USA
- Phone
- 6094339340
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Museum, Museum Activities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,760,334
- Expenses
- $7,097,249
- Assets
- $22,286,976
- Liabilities
- $5,827,615
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID SMITH (VICE PRESIDENT)
- STEVE EDWARDS (PRESIDENT)
- BRYAN BLANEY (GENERAL MANAGER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- TAMMERA UZZELL (VICE PRESIDENT - OPERATION)
Highest reported compensation
- LEO T EHRLINE III (EXECUTIVE VP): $275,000 total reported compensation
- BRYAN BLANEY (GENERAL MANAGER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $151,871 total reported compensation
- TAMMERA UZZELL (VICE PRESIDENT - OPERATION): $139,934 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 New Jersey hall of fame's mission has three simple parts: to celebrate the garden state, to honor our legends, and to inspire our children. All of our activities, programs, and exhibits serve as extensions of that mission, including our annual induction ceremony, mobile museum, exhibits at newark liberty international airport, educational programs such as the arete scholarship and legacy project, and our permanent museum, which serves as the hub for all of our activities and programs.
What it reported doing in 2024
Educational programs: the foundation conducts a range of programs dedicated to carrying out its goal to recognize new jerseyans that demonstrate a sense of commitment to their communities. Among these programs are school field trips and educator professional development time, the annual arete scholarship awarded to current year graduating nj high school seniors. The number of scholarships and amount can vary each year. Scholarship winners are recognized at njhof's induction ceremony and at our everyday hero's exhibit at njhof @ american dream.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 67% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -88.7%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.14; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.1%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 35.1% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 21.6% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 34.5% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $275K · 26 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $706K reported
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.