The Ward Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237088071
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Salisbury, MD, USA
Phone
4107424988
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,786,948
Expenses
$1,167,610
Assets
$632,128
Liabilities
$539,812

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR KRISTIN SULLIVAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR KRISTIN SULLIVAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $74,600 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The ward museum is dedicated to exhibiting, collecting and promoting wildfowl art and related materials, and interpreting their significance through educational programs and publications.

What it reported doing in 2020

Art events - hosts the ward world championship in april in which master carvers from around the world gather to compete and exhibit artwork; hosts the chesapeake wildfowl expo in october to celebrate the tradition of decoy making and waterfowling in the region; hosts the art in nature photo festival in august to showcase nature photography from throughout the country.

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

STRONG - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.3%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 86.5%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $49.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: 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: 34.7%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.85; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59.3% of revenue deployed · 86.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2012 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.