Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861686115
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024
Location
Oberlin, OH, USA
Phone
4402905597
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$290,645
Expenses
$63,246
Assets
$407,456
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CAROL LASSER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DORIS E HUGHES-MOORE (PRESIDENT)
  • PHYLLIS Y HOGAN (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • CAROL LASSER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DORIS E HUGHES-MOORE (PRESIDENT)
  • PHYLLIS Y HOGAN (VICE PRESIDENT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To preserve and transform the home of wilson bruce evans into a living monument that honors the legacy of the evans family, abolitionists, underground railroad operatives, and lifelong advocates of racial justice. We aim to educate, engage, and empower the community.

What it reported doing in 2025

The wilson bruce evans home historical society preserves and interprets the home and legacy of wilson bruce evans (1824-1898), sarah jane leary evans (1829-1898), and their descendants, situating their contributions within the broader history of oberlin, oh and the national struggle for black freedom, racial equality, and social justice. During 2025, the organization continued phase 2 of its multi-year rehabilitation project to restore the evans home, a national historic landmark, for us as a public historic site and community educational resource. Activities included architectural planning, preservation consulting, and ongoing renovation of the original structure, as well as development of an annex to provide ada-compliant access and facilities. These efforts are essential to preserving the historical integrity of the site while expanding its accessibility for public engagement. In parallel with physical restoration work, the organization advanced its educational mission by developing interpretive plans, historical context, and future programming designed to engage local residents, students, and broader audiences. The evans home project highlights the role of the evans family in key historical events, including the oberlin-wellington rescue and the broader abolitionist movement, and connects these stories to ongoing conversations around racial justice. Upon completion of the rehabilitation project, anticipated in 2027, the organization plans to open the evans home to the public as a living historic site and educational space offering exhibits, programming, and community-based initiatives that promote historical understanding and civic engagement.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 43
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 16.9%; rating input score 17
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $41.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 78.2%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.44; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 66.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 16.9% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $49K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $126K reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.