Washington Trust For Historic Preservation

What it reported doing in 2024

Looking back, 2024 was a year of milestones, as the Washington Trust team worked to promote historic preservation, community placemaking, and cultural heritage in towns across the state.Advocacy remained a cornerstone of our work. We made our annual sojourn to Washington, D.C., for Preservation Advocacy Week, meeting with our states Congressional representatives to support federal preservation policies and funding. At the state level, we continued our work with lawmakers to showcase the importance of preservation as a valuable economic development tool. In partnership with the Department of Archeology & Historic Preservation (DAHP), we supervised capital grant programs for historic barns, county courthouses, cemeteries, and theaters. We added three new listings to Washington's Most Endangered Places: the Ryan House in Sumner, a historic log cabin in Langley, and the Coupeville Wharf.Our programs had stellar years as well. The Washington State Main Street Program, a DAHP program administered by the Washington Trust, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024. The Main Street network overall grew to 77 towns and cities with the addition of one new Community (Snohomish) and ? ve new Affiliates (Cathlamet, Chewelah, Kirkland, Oakesdale, and Pioneer Square in Seattle). Our annual conference, newly re-branded as PLACES, traveled to Walla Walla, attracting 385 attendees and contributing $175,000 to the local economy. We were awarded a Neighborhood Business Districts grant from the City of Spokane, which will support district improvements and organizational development in four of Spokanes historic neighborhood business districts starting in 2025.In our second official year of activities for the MariOme Washington National Heritage Area, we hosted public and network events celebrating Washingtons maritime history and heritage. Our Maritime Washington grant program awarded more than $260,000 in sub-grants. We welcomed a Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Meagan Harden, who will work with sta

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
• Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
• Fundraising efficiency: $15.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st 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: 96.6%; rating input score 97; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 10.1%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.92; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings