Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237348133
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
Asheville, NC, USA
Phone
8282539231
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$220,436
Expenses
$211,403
Assets
$3,575,539
Liabilities
$1,777

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Polly Rolman-Smith (Executive Director)
  • Steven Lee Johnson (President)
  • Catherine Frank (Vice President)
  • Ralph Simpson (Past President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Polly Rolman-Smith (Executive Director): $53,031 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 mission of Western North Carlina Historical Association is to preserve and promote the history and legacy of Western North Carolina through interpretation, education, collection, and collaboration.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational Programming Ongoing educational programming at the Asheville Museum of History in fiscal year 2024-2025 was packed full of a variety of interesting program offerings both in person and online as virtual programs. Programming included eleven History Hour Series lectures with guest historians and lecturers that served an average of 35 audience members each lecture. These lectures were ticketed events hosted online through Zoom and included a low or no cost ticket option through the museums Community Fund. Four of the programs were offered as hybrid events in person and online through a collaborative program with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville. Camblos-Colwell Award Due to Helene, the Asheville Museum of History postponed its two major awards programs: the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award and the Outanding Achievement Award. Named for the famed Asheville-born novelist, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award has been presented annually by the Western North Carolina Historical Association since 1955 to honor outstanding literature by regional authors or works that take place in Western North Carolina. The museum also presents an annual Outstanding Achievement Award to organizations or individuals who have undertaken special and exceptional efforts in preserving or promoting local and regional history in the Western North Carolina community. However, in fiscal year 2024-2025, the Asheville Museum of History Board of Trustees did present the first Camblos-Colwell award in December 2024 to Daniel Huger and Stuart Camblos. Established in 2023, the award is named for Ruth Rudy Camblos, a passionate and persistent advocate for preserving the Smith-McDowell House, and Virginia McDowell Colwell, whose bequest in 2019 enabled major repairs and renovations and will ensure the maintenance of the house. Daniel Huger served on the board of the Western North Carolina Historical Association for many years, including as board president and treasurer. He also served as a former executive director. Stuart Camblos has been a driving force in the Western North Carolina Historical Association for much of her life, serving as a trustee and a volunteeer. She was an early proponent of turning the former house museum into a regional history museum with permanent and changing exhibits.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.7%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 78.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 3rd 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.1%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.91; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.7% of revenue deployed · 78.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $166K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $53K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.