Witte Museum EIN 74-1400537

Witte Museum FY2020 filing

EIN  74-1400537 Public charity (501(c)(3)) San Antonio, TX Founded 1926
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Verified accurate 7/18/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Preserves and shares South Texas history, culture, science, and natural environment through exhibits and educational programs.
Leadership
Marise McDermott · President and CEO · $163K
Money in and out
$3.3M revenue, $2.0M expenses
Bottom line
90% program efficiency

Preserves and shares South Texas history, culture, science, and natural environment through exhibits and educational programs. For fiscal year 2020 it reported $3.3M in revenue, $2.0M in expenses, and $61.3M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2020
Total revenue
$3.3M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.0M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$61.3M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $1.4M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.90 Management & general $0.04 Fundraising $0.06
Program efficiency
90%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
35.3mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+41%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2020 · Form 990
Revenue
$3.3M
FY2020
Expenses
$2.0M
FY2020
Total assets
$81.9M
FY2020
Total liabilities
$20.7M
FY2020
Total revenue
$3.3M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.0M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$61.3M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$1.4M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$81.9M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B90%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 331
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 428
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $1.8M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

The witte museum held 259 public programs in this period, including programs in texas history, archaeology, environmental ecology, dinosaurs, health and wellness and stem subjects. Approximately 3,600 people attended student, family, and adult programs, gallery theater and demonstrations, educator workshops, and live remote learning…

$878Kprogram expense
02

In this period, approximately 17,500 people visited the museum for exhibitions, programs and special events.

$824Kprogram expense
03

The witte museum store offers a variety of books, educational toys and limited-time-only special products related to the exhibits and public programming. These items provide take-away experiences that reinforce the transformative experiences in nature, science and culture of the museum.

$59Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CWitte Museum
EINHdr · item D74-1400537
Principal addressHdr · item CSan Antonio, TX
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.wittemuseum.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1926
State of legal domicileHdr · item MTX
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A50)
Ruling yearIRS BMFNov 1932

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a31
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b28
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President and CEO
$162,640Pt VII · Sec A
Past Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
At Large
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Committee Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Marise McDermott’s $175K as President and CEO (former) is at the 11th 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

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Marise McDermott$175,106$289,831$270,496$189,229$162,640
Beatrice Quintanilla-Abercrombie$101,694$144,817$137,358$119,096
Victoria Bates$138,786$58,744
Kimberly Biffle$126,606$110,717
Brady Haynes$120,480$107,007
Michelle Everidge$116,138$106,018
Elizabeth Stricker$113,216$103,827
Heather Russo$109,995

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$3.1M · 92%
Program service revenue$145K · 4%
Investment income$124K · 4%
Contributions & grants92%$3.1M
Program service revenue4%$145K
Investment income4%$124K
— government grantsLn 1e$1.4M
Total revenueLn 12$3.3M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.90 Management & general $0.04 Fundraising $0.06
Program services90%$1.8M
Management & general4%$69K
Fundraising6%$122K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.0M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$687K
Total assetsLn 16$81.9M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$20.7M
Total net assetsLn 32$61.3M
Months of cash on handcomputed4.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2020 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $5.7M · Operating expenses/yr $2.0M
35.3 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $1.8M · Total expenses $2.0M
90%
Management & General
Management & general $69K · Total expenses $2.0M
4%
Fundraising
Fundraising $122K · Total expenses $2.0M
6%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $122K · Solicited contributions $1.7M
$0.07 to raise $1
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $3.1M · Total revenue $3.3M
92%
Government reliance
Government grants $1.4M · Total revenue $3.3M
42%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $145K · Total revenue $3.3M
4%
Investment reliance
Investment income $124K · Total revenue $3.3M
+4%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $145K · Total expenses $2.0M
7%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $3.3M · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $61.3M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $3.3M · Expenses $2.0M
+41%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $81.9M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $61.3M · Total assets $81.9M
75%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $5.1M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $81.9M
6%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Marise McDermott · Reported title PRESIDENT AND CEO · Highest reported compensation $163K · Total expenses $2.0M
8%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $604K · Total expenses $2.0M
31%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 90%
Overhead ratio 4%
Fundraising cost ratio 4%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 1%
Accounting fee ratio 0%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

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 · FY2024
See all 42 funders →

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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
FY2024 (Latest)$15.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$14.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$13.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$11.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$3.3M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2020IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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