Woodmere Art Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231381459
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2152470476
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,053,664
Expenses
$3,416,067
Assets
$43,743,338
Liabilities
$1,440,932

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • William r Valerio phd (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO)
  • JAMES ALEXANDRE (President)
  • Amy Branch (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • William r Valerio phd (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO): $263,877 total reported compensation
  • Stephanie Cehelsky (CFO): $157,762 total reported compensation
  • Anne Standish (Dir. of Institutional Devt.): $139,244 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To inspire creativity, learning and self-expression through experiences with the art and artists of philadelphia and the region.

What it reported doing in 2024

Woodmere is a dynamic museum that continues to grow in the vitality of its exhibitions and programming. It is the only art museum solely focused on the work of artists of the Philadelphia region. The museum engages a growing and increasingly diverse audience through ten or more changing exhibitions and vibrant year-round programming. The collection of approximately 11,000 works of art includes the largest concentration of work by Violet Oakley and her circle, as well as important works by Charles Willson Peale, Benjamin West, Thomas Sully, Frederic Church, Arthur B. Charles, Bo Bartlett, and many others. In addition, Woodmere's Helen Millard Children's Gallery showcases five exhibitions annually of art made by children representing the model projects in arts education that can be replicated by teachers. The museum also offers an experience of outdoor sculpture in the context of nature and the environmental features of the museum's grounds. Woodmere continues to develop and integrate the experience across the grounds in a manner that brings art in conversation with environmental science and horticultural interest. Further engagement with the public is provided through an expansive array of educational programs, such as a music series program, lectures, tours, and film. In the fall of 2021, Woodmere acquired a 17,000 square-foot mansion named Frances M. Maguire Hall for Art and Education at Woodmere Art Museum which will allow for a major transformative expansion of the museum's exhibition and outdoor spaces. In addition, this expansion will provide a new drop-in art space for school groups and families and will augment the museum's highly successful educational programming described above. MAJOR TRANSFORMATIVE EXPANSION OF THE MUSEUM'S EXHIBITION AND OUTDOOR SPACES.IN ADDITION, THIS EXPANSION WILL PROVIDE A NEW DROP-IN ART SPACE FOR SCHOOL GROUPS AND FAMILIES AND WILL AUGMENT THE MUSEUM'S HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING DESCRIBED ABOVE. WOODMERE IS ACCREDITED BY THE AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS, A DISTINCTION HELD BY APPROXIMATELY THREE PERCENT OF ALL MUSEUMS NATION WIDE. ALSO, ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, WOODMERE IS DESIGNATED A SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURE THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE CHARACTER OF THE CHESTNUT HILL HISTORIC DISTRICT IN PHILADELPHIA.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 34.9%; rating input score 35
  • Program expense ratio: 76.7%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 9 of 9 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: 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: 62.3%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.81; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 34.9% of revenue deployed · 76.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $264K · 31 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.8M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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: Mission deployment rate scored 35/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.