Thomas Cole Historic House

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270599147
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2021, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Catskill, NY, USA
Phone
5189437465
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,216,585
Expenses
$1,882,081
Assets
$8,429,611
Liabilities
$277,498

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH B JACKS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH B JACKS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $125,370 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 thomas cole national historic site preserves and interprets the home, and studios of thomas cole, the founder of the hudson river school of painting, the nation's first art movement. Cole's profound influence on america's cultural landscape inspires us to engage broad audiences through innovative educational programs that are relevant today.

What it reported doing in 2024

The thomas cole national historic site presents the original home and studios of the artist and early environmentalist thomas cole (1801-1848). Cole founded the hudson river school of american landscape painting, the formative 19th-century art movement of the united states, and advocated for preservation of the natural landscape. Located on 6 acres in New York's hudson valley, the site includes the 1815 main house; cole's 1839 old studio; the reconstructed 1846 new studio building; and gardens and grounds with views of the catskill mountains. It is a national historic landmark and an affiliated area of the national park system. The thomas cole site's activities include guided and self-guided tours, special exhibitions of both 19th-century and contemporary art, print publications, lectures, extensive online programs, school programs, the cole fellowship, free community events, and innovative public programs such as the hudson river school art traila map and website that enable people to visit the places in nature that cole paintedand the hudson river skywalk, a new scenic walkway connecting the thomas cole site with frederic church's olana over the hudson river. The goal of all programs at the thomas cole site is to enable visitors to find meaning and inspiration in thomas cole's life and work. The themes that cole explored in his art and writingssuch as landscape preservation and our conception of nature as a restorative powerare both historic and timely, providing the opportunity to connect to audiences with insights that are highly relevant to their own lives.

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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.9%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 64%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 15.1%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.48; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.9% of revenue deployed · 64% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $125K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.