The Putnam Foundation Dba Timken Museum of Art

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
956037070
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
6192395548
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,724,896
Expenses
$2,924,978
Assets
$57,021,993
Liabilities
$670,807

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MEGAN POGUE (Executive Dir.): $268,402 total reported compensation
  • DERRICK CARTWRIGHT (DIR OF CUR AFFAIRS): $168,557 total reported compensation
  • HOLLY MARTIN-BOLLARD (DIR OF OPS): $139,449 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 Putnam Foundation (the Foundation) is a non-profit organization whose primary activity is the education of the public in fine arts through the operation of the Timken Museum of Art (the Museum) located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, and is the only fine art museum in San Diego that does not charge admission. Accessibility, whether through our free-admission policy or through outreach to underserved groups in the community is at the heart of the Timken.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational Programs: The museums educational programs, broad and varied, are offered throughout the year and are free of charge. The programs, both in the museum and out in the community include school residencies, classes at Juvenile Hall, and Balboa Naval Medical Center, school tours, teacher trainings, family art making, docent tours, art programs in senior residence and Outreach Espaol our bi-national program which provides transportation to the museum and tours in Spanish for students in Baja CA. In addition our educational programs also include exhibitions, artist in residency and musical performances. Our exhibitions examine, in depth, a specific painting or body of work in the museums collection, by placing the work or works into the broader context of the art and culture of its time. Our intent is to expand and deepen our viewers understanding of art and specifically the pieces in our collection. Exhibitions are an essential part of the Timkens educational programs and we believe our free admission mandate promotes art awareness and appreciation by making our collection accessible to any and all that visit.

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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.1%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 63rd 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: -7.3%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 19.49; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.7%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.1% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $268K · 19 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $108K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.