Museum of African American History EIN 38-1882096

Museum of African American History

EIN  38-1882096 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Detroit, MI Founded 1965
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/10/26 · see original filing: IRS
Is this your organization?
Claim this profile to manage it and share your story.
Claim
Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Museum of African American History claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Size
$10–100M
What they do
Explores and celebrates African American history and culture through exhibitions and programs.
Leadership
Neil Barclay · President & CEO · $347K
Money in and out
$12.4M revenue, $13.4M expenses
Bottom line
66% program efficiency

Explores and celebrates African American history and culture through exhibitions and programs. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $12.4M in revenue, $13.4M in expenses, and $27.6M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$12.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$13.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$27.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$1.1M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.66 Management & general $0.31 Fundraising $0.04
Program efficiency
66%
of spending reaches programs0% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
5.0mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -29% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-9%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -125% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$12.4M
FY2024▼ -41%
Expenses
$13.4M
FY2024▼ -1%
Total assets
$32.3M
FY2024▲ +2%
Total liabilities
$4.7M
FY2024▲ +43%
Total revenue
$12.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$13.4M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$27.6M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$1.1M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$32.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B66%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 334
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 434
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

2 program services account for $8.8M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Education Programs

The heartbeat of the wright museum is in its wide array of community programming, the majority of which is free and open to the public. The wright museum's rich, annually recurring calendar includes over 250 public events, including concert performances, theatrical productions, family and children's programs, film screenings, lectures…

$8.7Mprogram expense
02

In April 2025, the Wright Debuted Luminosity

A detroit arts gathering, a dynamic exhibition celebrating 60 years of the wright with over 60 artworks from present-day detroit artists, long-departed masters, and the museum's archive. Spanning painting, sculpture, photography, and more, luminosity illuminates the city's creative spirit through shared histories, personal reflections…

$91Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CMuseum of African American History
EINHdr · item D38-1882096
Principal addressHdr · item CDetroit, MI
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.thewright.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1965
State of legal domicileHdr · item MMI
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A500)
Ruling yearIRS BMFDec 1966

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a34
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b34
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 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$347,492Pt VII · Sec A
$199,422Pt VII · Sec A
SVP Instit. Advance. (ended 02/25)
$163,370Pt VII · Sec A
$139,074Pt VII · Sec A
VP Org. Dev & CFO
$130,297Pt VII · Sec A
Chief of Staff
$89,964Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Neil Barclay’s $347K as President & CEO is at the 55th percentile of top reported officer pay among 749 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Neil Barclay$347,492$297,549$260,446$273,240$237,600$215,003
Jeffrey Anderson$199,422$198,793$218,077$169,615$158,038$154,285
Michon Lartigue$163,370
Michon Lartique$161,538$129,231
Jennifer Scott$146,750$10,500
Marcus Miller$139,074$41,846
Sharon Rose$121,840$135,839
Joy Defrance$130,297$104,784$110,673

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.

See Museum of African American History executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$10.6M · 86%
Program service revenue$1.1M · 9%
Investment income$328K · 3%
Other revenue$350K · 3%
Contributions & grants86%$10.6M
Program service revenue9%$1.1M
Investment income3%$328K
Other revenue3%$350K
— government grantsLn 1e$8.9M
Total revenueLn 12$12.4M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.66 Management & general $0.31 Fundraising $0.04
Program services66%$8.8M
Management & general31%$4.1M
Fundraising4%$509K
Total functional expensesLn 25$13.4M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$4.6M
Total assetsLn 16$32.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$4.7M
Total net assetsLn 32$27.6M
Months of cash on handcomputed4.1

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $5.6M · Operating expenses/yr $13.4M
5.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $8.8M · Total expenses $13.4M
66%
Management & General
Management & general $4.1M · Total expenses $13.4M
31%
Fundraising
Fundraising $509K · Total expenses $13.4M
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $511K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $3.0M
$0.17 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $10.6M · Total revenue $12.4M
86%
Government reliance
Government grants $8.9M · Total revenue $12.4M
72%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $1.1M · Total revenue $12.4M
9%
Investment reliance
Investment income $328K · Total revenue $12.4M
+3%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $1.1M · Total expenses $13.4M
8%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $12.4M · Prior year $20.8M
-41%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $6.2M · FY2024 $12.4M
+15%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $27.6M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $12.4M · Expenses $13.4M
-9%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $32.3M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $27.6M · Total assets $32.3M
85%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $1.0M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $32.3M
3%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Neil Barclay · Reported title PRESIDENT & CEO · Highest reported compensation $347K · Total expenses $13.4M
3%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $4.8M · Total expenses $13.4M
36%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 66%
Overhead ratio 31%
Fundraising cost ratio 5%
Revenue growth -41%

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 · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
CulturesourceFY2025$36K
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$36K

Similar Organizations

Closest in mission — by what they do
See all organizations like Museum of African American History →

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$20.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$13.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$20.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$7.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$6.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.