The Scandinavian Cultural Center and Library Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043271118
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
Location
W Newton, MA, USA
Phone
6179650621
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Reported finances

Revenue
$226,799
Expenses
$193,489
Assets
$173,610
Liabilities
$68,684

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PIA SCHEFFELAAR KLOTS (TREASURER/ PRESIDENT)
  • MAGNUS SNORRASON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KERRY ANN LAVIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KERRY ANN LAVIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $101,279 total reported compensation
  • LISE ROSLAND (DIRECTOR): $4,400 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The scandinavian cultural center and library's mission is to curate and celebrate the rich tapestry of nordic arts, culture, and literature to the people of the boston area and beyond.

What it reported doing in 2025

The scandinavian cultural center & library offers everyone interested in the nordic countries an opportunity to experience the nordic cultures through events, arts, music, cinema, literature, and food. Scc&l main source of income from programs are:1) cafe serving scandinavian food and baked goods2) events focused on nordic culture (during season we have an event almost every saturday, some small, some larger such as movies, concerts, author readings, events for children, etc.)3) maintaining a nordic library and lending services

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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.7%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.9; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 54.6%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 83.2% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.2% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $193K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $101K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.