Rothko Chapel EIN 22-7229934

Rothko Chapel

EIN  22-7229934 Religious organization Houston, TX
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/25/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Preserves art and integrates faith and justice for personal and community transformation.
Leadership
David Leslie · Executive Director · $186K
Money in and out
$4.3M revenue, $3.3M expenses
Bottom line
67% program efficiency

Preserves art and integrates faith and justice for personal and community transformation. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $4.3M in revenue, $3.3M in expenses, and $41.0M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$4.3M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$3.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$41.0M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $1.1M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.67 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.19
Program efficiency
67%
of spending reaches programs▼ -4% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
64.7mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -18% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+25%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +8% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$4.3M
FY2025▲ +9%
Expenses
$3.3M
FY2025▲ +7%
Total assets
$44.8M
FY2025▲ +14%
Total liabilities
$3.8M
FY2025▲ +832%
Total revenue
$4.3M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$3.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$41.0M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$1.1M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$44.8M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B67%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 317
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 417
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $2.2M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The Rothko Chapel hosts more than 100,000 visitors annually from over 100 countries. Visitors are drawn to the Chapel's unique sacred art by Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, created for contemplation and prayer.

$1.7Mprogram expense
02

The Rothko Chapel's public programs provide interactive community education and space for dialogue on critical issues related to the spiritual and physical state of the human condition. Many of our programs integrate spirituality and the arts.

$519Kprogram expense
03

The Rothko Chapel Archives act as the organization's institutional memory and provide important insight into the Chapel's unique legacy. This growing collection preserves the organization's history and documents its ongoing impact, particularly in contemporary and sacred art, ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, and international human…

$11Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CRothko Chapel
EINHdr · item D22-7229934
Principal addressHdr · item CHouston, TX
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.rothkochapel.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MTX
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFReligion (X21)
Ruling yearIRS BMFDec 1972

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a17
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b17
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$185,854Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance & Oper
$120,667Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Advancement
$120,238Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary; Chair of Governance Committee
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Chair Development Committee
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Chair of Program Committee
$0Pt VII · Sec A

David Leslie’s $186K as Executive Director is at the 87th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1637 $1–10M religion 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
David Leslie$185,854$171,413$177,499$173,478$162,191$152,024
Michael Hudson$120,667$109,794$104,233$103,009
Thuy Tran$120,238$111,894$111,644$107,190

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$3.0M · 70%
Investment income$1.1M · 24%
Other revenue$241K · 6%
Contributions & grants70%$3.0M
Investment income24%$1.1M
Other revenue6%$241K
Program service revenue$17K
— government grantsLn 1e$11K
Total revenueLn 12$4.3M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.67 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.19
Program services67%$2.2M
Management & general13%$432K
Fundraising19%$631K
Total functional expensesLn 25$3.3M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$536K
Total assetsLn 16$44.8M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$3.8M
Total net assetsLn 32$41.0M
Months of cash on handcomputed2.0

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $17.5M · Operating expenses/yr $3.3M
64.7 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $2.2M · Total expenses $3.3M
67%
Management & General
Management & general $432K · Total expenses $3.3M
13%
Fundraising
Fundraising $631K · Total expenses $3.3M
19%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $582K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $2.4M
$0.24 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $3.0M · Total revenue $4.3M
70%
Government reliance
Government grants $11K · Total revenue $4.3M
0%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $17K · Total revenue $4.3M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $1.1M · Total revenue $4.3M
+24%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $17K · Total expenses $3.3M
1%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $4.3M · Prior year $3.9M
+9%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $3.1M · FY2024 $4.3M
+7%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $41.0M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $4.3M · Expenses $3.3M
+25%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $44.8M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $41.0M · Total assets $44.8M
92%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $17.0M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $44.8M
38%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual David Leslie · Reported title Executive Director · Highest reported compensation $186K · Total expenses $3.3M
6%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $1.2M · Total expenses $3.3M
36%
Fundraising vendors
Fundraiser cost ratio
Paid to fundraisers $86K · Gross raised $138K
62%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 67%
Overhead ratio 13%
Fundraising cost ratio 21%
Revenue growth 9%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 1%
Fundraising fee ratio 3%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$12K
Grants paid · 4 grants · $60K · 2019–2022
Unitemized GrantFY2022$20,000
Unitemized GrantFY2019$20,000
Fund for Global Human RightsDC · FY2019$10,000

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$4.3M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$3.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$3.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$6.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$5.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$3.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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