The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611472746
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Long Island City, NY, USA
Phone
7182047088
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,394,466
Expenses
$11,800,874
Assets
$82,697,674
Liabilities
$3,623,614

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • AMY HAU (DIRECTOR): $294,486 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER LORCH (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $261,070 total reported compensation
  • GEORGE JUERGENS (FACILITIES DIRECTOR): $195,730 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 mission of the isamu noguchi foundation and garden museum is to advance the understanding and appreciation of isamu noguchi's art and legacy.the isamu noguchi foundation and garden museum seeks to protect and preserve isamu noguchi's work and archives, as well as to sustain his museum as a place for the exploration of individual artistic endeavors and creative collaboration. The museum also aims to expand on noguchi's legacy of wide-ranging interests and intimate artistic experience through an active exhibition, education, research, and public-programming schedule, while continuing to broaden his influence and relevance, focusing on how his work will inform contemporary culture for generations to come.

What it reported doing in 2024

Collectionthe noguchi museum manages the world's largest and most extensive collection of noguchi's art, and is dedicated to the preservation of this body of work. There are approximately 500 objects in the museum's permanent collection which includes stone, sculptures, ceramics, dance sets, drawings, furniture, sculptural models, portrait heads, and models for public works. While designing and curating his museum, noguchi selected several of these works to be on permanent display in the museum's galleries. In addition to showcasing its permanent collection, the noguchi museum also serves the international community by loaning works to other institutions.

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.

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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 74.1%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 39.2%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.01; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $8.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $294K · 25 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $496K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.