Winchester Historical Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237383040
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2012
Location
Winchester, MA, USA
Phone
7817210135
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$152,673
Expenses
$89,939
Assets
$679,053
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELECTRA GOVONI (PRESIDENT)
  • SUSAN TURPIN (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • ELECTRA GOVONI (PRESIDENT)
  • ERNESTINE RAVANIS (TREASURER)
  • LINDA DOUCETTE (SECRETARY/CLERK)

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

Educational organization to stimulate an interest in winchester, Massachusetts' history through public programs; to collect and preserve archival records and artifacts; and to promote scholarship and study of the town's history through the society's website, newsletters and other publications. The organization also promotes and carries out, for the benefit of the general public, the preservation of those significant architectural, historical and cultural resources of winchester, including the sanborn house historical and cultural center.

What it reported doing in 2025

Preserve and collect historical treasures, buildings, paintings, prints and maps along with other costumes, artifacts and historical and cultural resources related to the town of winchester, Massachusetts, including the sanborn house historical and cultural center.

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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.7%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 41.1%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.55; rating input score 86; 86th 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: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.7% of revenue deployed · 86.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $78K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 52/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.