Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391737786
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082610536
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$201,414
Expenses
$256,791
Assets
$259,300
Liabilities
$151,908

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAN CHECKI (PRESIDENT)
  • JOANE MATHEWS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JENNIFER BIENIEK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER BIENIEK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $86,290 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 Wisconsin veterans museum foundation provides private fundraising support for the Wisconsin veterans museum, ensuring that the museum continues its record of excellence as the preeminent interpreter of the Wisconsin veteran experience. We pursue this mission by following best practices in fundraising, providing support for special events, and ensuring that the fiduciary and ethical responsibilities of the foundation are met.

What it reported doing in 2024

Museum support: the museum offers several programs throughout each year. Forest hill cemetery tour is held each fall at the forest hill cemetery in madison. This award-winning living history program illuminates the lives of many prominent-and lesser known-figures in Wisconsin history. Focusing on the contributions of Wisconsin's soldiers and citizens during the civil war, local actors and actresses don period dress, giving viewers a first person encounter through scripted vignettes. Tour guides lead informative discussions of the cemetery's rich history during the 90 minute tour. The foundation continues to receive all revenues and pay for any expenses for each of these programs the museum hosts. Most of the programs are virtual, with two in-person events: talking spirits and the quarterly mess night event at the museum. The virtual platform fees are sponsored and free to the public. Our in-person programs have a registration fee in order to cover the cost of food and beverages, as well as sponsorship support. Exhibits represent one type of the public programs developed by the Wisconsin veterans museum. Temporary exhibits typically run for 12 to 18 months and are funded through the Wisconsin veterans museum foundation and the Wisconsin department of veterans affairs. During 2024/2025, the foundation provided funding for maintenance, storage of traveling exhibits and two new exhibits on display in the temporary changing gallery.the bugle is published quarterly by the Wisconsin veterans museum foundation for its members and friends. The foundation published four issues during the year and distributed them to over 1,000 individuals. The bugle is the principal source of public information for the Wisconsin veterans museum.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 84% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.7%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 46.4%; rating input score 46
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th 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; 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: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -27.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.01; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.59; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.7% of revenue deployed · 46.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $119K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $86K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.