Henry L Ferguson Museum FY2020 filing

Tax-deductible

Fishers Isle, NY501(c)(3)Since 1967Arts & CultureEIN 11-6015380Revenue $769K in FY2020

On file with the IRSPo Box 554, 06390-0554 · Fishers Isle, NYTax-exempt since Jul 1965Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Maintain and operate a museum and nature trails and sanctuary properties on Fishers Island, New York.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
70¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$81K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
6 of 7
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $35K a year · 3% of revenue · last 7 filings
Fine: a surplus in 6 of the last 7 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 7 filings
Spent on programs
70%
of spending
Fine: 70% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$81K
to officers and key staff · 18% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 18% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
79 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 79.4 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $6K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$0
0% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
20
of 20 voting members
Looks good: 20 of 20 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$769K
-0.2% vs prior year
Spent
$446K
To programs
70%
Net assets
$13.8M
By yearFY2019–FY2025
Revenue
$769K
FY2020-0.2%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2019$771K
FY2020$769K
FY2021$966K
FY2022$702K
FY2023$0
FY2024$2.4M
FY2025$2.5M
Expenses
$446K
FY2020▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2019$429K
FY2020$446K
FY2021$658K
FY2022$671K
FY2023$4.2M
FY2024$751K
FY2025$1.1M
Net assets
$13.8M
FY2020▲ +1%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2019$13.6M
FY2020$13.8M
FY2021$14.6M
FY2022$14.0M
FY2023$9.8M
FY2024$18.7M
FY2025$20.5M

From the FY2020 Form 990 · see the original

Form 990 (PDF) Claim
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 1965.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

70 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 70% · $312K Management & general 20% · $89K Fundraising 10% · $45K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

42 people listed on the 990; $81K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Dir.
$81,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
V. Pres - Land
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Pierce Rafferty’s $123K as Executive Dir. is at the 100th percentile of top reported officer pay among 249 <$100K arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2022FY2021FY2020FY2019
Pierce Rafferty$123,167$119,000$97,500$84,000$81,000$77,500

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Operates a museum and nature sanctuary on Fishers Island, New York.

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Provided by the organization

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4 programs · $380K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Maintain and operate a museum on fishers island displaying collections pertaining to local flora and fauna, history and archaeology for the education and benefit of the general public without charge.

$261Kprogram expense
02

Maintain and operate a museum on fishers island displaying collections pertaining to local flora and fauna, history and archaeology for the education and benefit of the general public without charge.

$68Kprogram expense
03

Maintain nature trails in the museum's several sanctuary properties for the protection and conservation of nature and wildlife.

$51Kprogram expense
04

Maintain nature trails in the museum's several sanctuary properties for the protection and conservation of nature and wildlife.

Pt IX · col B

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$6K

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$769K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$710K
Other incomeLn 4–11$59K
Money outPt IX
$446K
Ln 25
Programscol B$312K
Managementcol C$89K
Fundraisingcol D$45K
Owns and owesPt X
$13.8M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$3.0M
Total assetsLn 16$13.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
PeoplePt VI, VII
42
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a20
IndependentVI 1b20
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$710K
Other incomeLn 4–11$59K
Total revenueLn 12$769K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$3.0M
Total assetsLn 16$13.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
Net assetsLn 32$13.8M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 519
VolunteersI 6190
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $2.5M$1.1M$1.4M$20.5M 990 PDF
FY2024 $2.4M$751K$1.6M$18.7M 990 PDF
FY2023 $0$4.2M−$4.2M$9.8M 990 PDF
FY2022 $702K$671K$30K$14.0M 990 PDF
FY2021 $966K$658K$308K$14.6M 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $769K$446K$323K$13.8M 990 PDF
FY2019 $771K$429K$342K$13.6M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2020 990 (1 part)
Part VI · Governance 20 of 20 board members independent, 5 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body20
VI-1b Independent voting members20
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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