The Hanford Mills Museum at East Meredith

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237321530
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
East Meredith, NY, USA
Phone
6072785744
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$681,422
Expenses
$712,829
Assets
$2,476,765
Liabilities
$202,716

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID BROWER (Vice President)
  • STEVE OLES (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • KAJSA M HARLEY (Executive Dir.): $75,482 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Hanford Mills Museum operates an authentic water and steam-powered historic site. We inspire audiences of all ages to explore connections among energy, technology, natural resources and entrepreneurship in rural communities, with a focus on sustainable choices.

What it reported doing in 2025

THE HANFORD MILLS MUSEUM AT EAST MEREDITH, SITUATED ON A 175-YEAR-OLD MILL SITE IN EAST MEREDITH, NY, IS AN OPERATING HISTORIC MILL MUSEUM WHICH FEATURES SAW MILLING AND GRIST MILLING, AS WELL AS THE WATER POWERED PRODUCTION OF WOOD PRODUCTS. HANFORD MILLS MUSEUM OFFERS PUBLIC EVENTS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS DESIGNED FOR ALL CLASS LEVELS, K-12. THE MUSEUM HAS OVER 70 ACRES AND 16 HISTORIC BUILDINGS. THERE IS A WORKING WATER POWERED SAWMILL, GRISTMILL AND WOODWORKING SHOP, A 15 MINUTE ORIENTATION VIDEO, MANY DIFFERENT EXHIBITS, AND THE JOHN HANFORD FARMSTEAD COMPLEX. CROP Program: 193 programs implemented (1,803 total student interactions)Education Outreach Initiatives: 28 programs implemented (499 student interactions)Public Programs: 5 events took place during the 2025 season, each with a theme connected to the museums mission and featuring local artists, craftspeople, and partner organizations, and the Mill gave 9 informational walks and workshops.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 64th 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: NotApplicable
    • 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: -4.6%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.47; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.7% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $535K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.