White Columns Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237259446
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2129244212
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Council/Agency

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$849,046
Expenses
$1,346,990
Assets
$2,767,308
Liabilities
$975,005

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GREGORY MILLER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MATTHEW HIGGS (DIRECTOR/CHIEF CURATOR): $187,597 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

White columns identifies significant emerging and under-represented visual artists and encourages their creative and professional development through the presentation of group and solo exhibitions, an online curated artists registry, and other public programs that increase dialogue between artists, between generations of artists, and between artists and the general public.

What it reported doing in 2024

General exhibitions: white columns' solo and thematic group exhibitions showcase work by a wide range of emerging and under-recognized artists, of all backgrounds, who have yet to benefit from wider critical, curatorial or commercial support. We organized 2 solo exhibitions, 2 large group exhibitions and 8 public events (including 4 panel discussions, 1 screening, 1 curator lead walk through, and 2 performances) as part of our general exhibitions in fy25.white rooms: a cornerstone of white columns' exhibition schedule, the white rooms series gives solo exhibitions to emerging artists. The series provides artists with a strong body of work an invaluable opportunity to exhibit, free from the pressures of the commercial market. In fy25, 2 separate solo exhibitions were presented.curated artist registry: white columns maintains a navigable database presenting new work by over 700 emerging artists who do not have commercial gallery representation in New York city. The registry is accessible online and is a widely recognized resource, utilized by independent curators, gallerists, museum curators, collectors, and others. Each year the gallery receives more than 1,000 submissions, and the artists are selected through a review process by white columns' curatorial staff.white columns also has an ongoing series of online exhibitions, working with guest curators to present works drawn exclusively from the registry. The exhibitions can be viewed online, drawing greater attention to both the registry itself and the work of the 700+ artists currently featured there. Each online exhibition is accompanied by a text where the curator discusses the title, theme, and relationship of the chosen works. In fy25, 4 online exhibitions were presented online and remains accessible in our archive.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 62.7%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -58.6%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.05; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 62.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $844K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $188K · 15 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.