The Heard Museum
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 860107517
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Phone
- 6022528840
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Museum, Museum Activities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $23,249,082
- Expenses
- $14,062,323
- Assets
- $42,613,367
- Liabilities
- $2,990,417
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
35 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID ROCHE (DIRECTOR AND CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- DAVID ROCHE (DIRECTOR AND CEO): $423,238 total reported compensation
- JOHN BULLA (COO/DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $283,367 total reported compensation
- DANIEL HAGERTY - CHIEF (ENGAGEMENT/ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $239,902 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 heard museum connects indigenous creativity to the world by presenting the voice and vision of american indian artists.
What it reported doing in 2024
The heard museum is the largest private nonprofit in the world dedicated to american indian art and culture. Since opening in 1929, the museum has become internationally recognized for organizing original exhibitions and scholarly publications that showcase the diversity and beauty of american indian art and culture, and for producing a wide annual array of public programs, festival events, and educational initiatives that provide access and learning opportunities for audiences of all ages with a particular focus on reaching youth and families.continued on schedule othe heard is one of Arizona's most prolific arts organizations, sharing stories of american indian people from a first-person perspective through exhibitions and programs that showcase traditional and contemporary native art. The museum stewards a collection of more than 46,000 works of art and maintains a major library and archives containing more than 440,000 additional items. Public and educational programs help bring the collection and exhibitions to light, including initiatives such as our free school tour program hosting approximately 7,000 students annually, and first fridays that offer free access to approximately 4,000 visitors annually. The heard organizes major programs such as the annual indian fair & market, one of the largest native art markets in the world, and the world championship hoop dance contest. Our nearly 140,000 annual visitors also enjoy numerous amenities that further engagement and learning, such as an acclaimed museum shop supporting the careers of american indian artists, and a museum cafe and coffee shop offering indigenous ingredients within their respective menus.the heard museum sets the standard for collaborating with american indian artists and tribal communities to provide visitors with a distinctive perspective about the art of native people, especially those from the southwest.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 79% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 54
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 76
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 46.7%; rating input score 47
- Program expense ratio: 69.2%; rating input score 69
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: 39.5%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 46.7% of revenue deployed · 69.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $423K · 35 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.4M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.