The Lawson Boating Heritage Center on Chautauqua Lake
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 273571294
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Bemus Point, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7163863355
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- History Museums
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $208,303
- Expenses
- $123,841
- Assets
- $1,313,231
- Liabilities
- $400
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GEORGE KERR (PRESIDENT)
- RICHARD A SHICK (VICE-PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- RAE LYNN DEANGELO (TRUSTEE): $5,300 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Loving boats since 1918. Our mission is to celebrate the history of boating on chautauqua lake, to preserve the lawson familys legacy, and to share chautauqua lakes regional history.
What it reported doing in 2025
Exhibit historic boats, artifacts and educational material that relate to chautauqua lakes rich boating history. Exhibit the lawson family collection of historic boating artifacts, wood-working tools, boat building tools, and photography. Provide a venue for community activity and event forums. Provide a marina learning experience. Create a nautical reference library for use by the membership and guests. Accomplished through december 31, 2025: maintain normal musueum hours despite lower number of volunteer docents. Memorial day through labor day weekends and holidays: saturday 10am-5pm and sunday 1pm-5pm, additionally during july and august wednesday 1pm-5pm and at other times per request. Current average membership - 300. Classes of membership: individual, family, partner, corporate, friend of the lawson center. Continue membership development. With the help of a grant from the chautauqua region community foundation, we were able to replace one of the front windows on the main floor of the museum. We also wrapped up the work on our foundation and break wall which was funded in part by chautauqua county and New York state. On the water facing front of our building and install protective rip-rap along the waterfront
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 62
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 77
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 57.1%; rating input score 57
- Program expense ratio: 91.6%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 40.5%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.6; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 57.1% of revenue deployed · 91.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $113K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $5K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.