Peabody Essex Museum Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
PEM OFFERS THOUGHT-PROVOKING EXPERIENCES OF THE ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND SCIENCES TO ACTIVATE UNDERSTANDING OF OUR SHARED HUMANITY AND TO EMPOWER IMAGINATION AND LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION. WE STEWARD, BUILD, AND MAKE OUR COLLECTIONS ACCESSIBLE TO ENCOURAGE APPRECIATION OF THE INTERCONNECTED HISTORIES AND CREATIVITY OF PEOPLE IN OUR COMPLEX, ALWAYS CHANGING WORLD.
- Income
- $26.4 million
- Spending
- $47.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 79%
- Reserves
- -1.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- investment income, 49%
- Employees
- 255
- Volunteers
- 108
- Highest pay
- $833,675, executive director and ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 43 out of 100. Higher than 9% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 8% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 79% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 32% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1579% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 36 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 12% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2523 of 23 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
0 of 10Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $12.7 million spent. EXHIBITIONS AND PUBLICATIONS: THROUGH ITS EXHIBITIONS, PUBLICATIONS, MEDIA AND RELATED ACTIVITIES, PEM STRIVES TO CREATE EXPERIENCES THAT TRANSFORM PEOPLE'S LIVES BY BROADENING THEIR PERSPECTIVES, ATTITUDES, AND KNOWLEDGE OF THEMSELVES AND THE WIDER WORLD. THE MUSEUM REALIZED AN AMBITIOUS, BALANCED, AND DIVERSIFIED CHANGING EXHIBITION PROGRAM IN FY2025. OPEN A TOTAL OF 260 DAYS, PEM WELCOMED 193,418 VISITORS TO THE MUSEUM. 49,751 OF GENERAL ADMISSION VISITORS TOURED YIN YU TANG, THE ONLY COMPLETE QING DYNASTY HOME OUTSIDE OF CHINA AND A MODEL IN INTERNATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION. EXHIBITIONS (JULY 1, 2024-JUNE 30, 2025) ETHIOPIA AT THE CROSSROADS (4/20247/2024) BATS! (11/20237/2024) SUSAN PHILIPSZ: IF I WITH YOU WOULD GO (6/2021 TO 8/2025) DRAW ME ISHMAEL: THE BOOK ARTS OF MOBY DICK (6/2024-3/2026) AGUSTINA WOODGATE: BALLROOM (8/2024-2/2025) CONJURING THE SPIRIT WORLD: ART, MAGIC, AND MEDIUMS (9/2024-2/2025) NARWHAL: REVEALING AN ARCTIC LEGEND (9/2024-6/2025) SAINTS, SINNERS, LOVERS, AND FOOLS: 300 YEARS OF FLEMISH MASTERWORKS (12/2024-5/2025) JUNG YEONDOO: BUILDING DREAMS (5/2025-1/2026) MAKING HISTORY: 200 YEARS OF AMERICAN ART FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS (6/2025-9/2025) COLLECTIONS INSTALLATIONS AMERICAN DECORATIVE ARTS (9/2019 PRESENT) ANILA QUAYYUM AGHA: ALL THE FLOWERS ARE FOR ME (9/2019 PRESENT) ART IN PUBLIC SPACES (9/2019 PRESENT) ASIAN EXPORT ART (9/2019 PRESENT) DOUBLE HAPPINESS: CELEBRATION IN CHINESE ART (4/2014 PRESENT) FASHION AND DESIGN (9/2019 PRESENT) JAPANESE ART (1/2014 PRESENT) KOREAN ART (5/2025 PRESENT) MARITIME ART (9/2019 PRESENT) ON THIS GROUND: BEING AND BELONGING IN AMERICA (3/2022 PRESENT) POWERFUL FIGURES (9/2019 PRESENT) SALEM STORIES (9/2020 PRESENT) SOUTH ASIAN ART (11/2020 PRESENT) STUDIO GLASS (5/2024-PRESENT) THE POD (9/2019 PRESENT) THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS 1692 (7/2024-PRESENT) VANESSA PLATACIS: TAKING PLACE (9/2019 PRESENT) PUBLISHED WORKS CHASSE, SARAH, AND LAN MORGAN, EDS. GATHERING: THE CARL AND BETTY PFORZHEIMER COLLECTION OF STUDIO GLASS. SALEM, MA: PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM, 2025.
- $14.3 million spent. CURATORIAL AND COLLECTIONS: NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED THOUGHT LEADERS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELDS, THE CURATORIAL STAFF IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONCEIVING AND ORGANIZING EXHIBITIONS AND CULTIVATING SUPPORT FOR THE MUSEUM'S PROGRAMMATIC INITIATIVES AND COLLECTION. CURATORS ACQUIRE, RESEARCH, AND INTERPRET THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION. THE CURATORIAL STAFF ALSO PREPARES AND PUBLISHES SCHOLARLY CATALOGUES AND EDUCATIONAL TEXTS RELATED TO THE EXHIBITIONS AND THE COLLECTION. THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION ENCOMPASSES MORE THAN 850,000 WORKS REPRESENTING ART AND CULTURE GLOBALLY. SEVERAL OF THE PRINCIPAL COLLECTING AREAS BEGAN WITH THE MUSEUM'S FOUNDING IN 1799 AND ARE THE FIRST OF SUCH MATERIAL AMONG AMERICAN MUSEUMS. OTHER AREAS OF THE COLLECTION ARE THE BEST OR LARGEST AMONG AMERICAN OR INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM COLLECTIONS. DURING FY25 (JULY 2024 JUNE 2025) THE MUSEUM ADDED, THROUGH PURCHASE AND DONATION, 254 NEW WORKS OF ART TO ITS COLLECTIONS, AND CONTINUES TO COLLECT SELECTIVELY IN ALMOST ALL AREAS OF THE COLLECTION THROUGH GIFT, PURCHASE, AND BEQUEST. PEM'S COLLECTION AREAS INCLUDE: AFRICAN, AMERICAN, ARCHITECTURE, ASIAN EXPORT, CHINESE, CONTEMPORARY, FASHION AND TEXTILES, JAPANESE, KOREAN, MARITIME, NATIVE AMERICAN, OCEANIC, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND SOUTH ASIAN, AS WELL AS THE COLLECTIONS OF THE PHILLIPS LIBRARY.
- $2.9 million spent. LEARNING & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: THE MUSEUM'S DEPARTMENT OF LEARNING AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT DEVELOPS AND IMPLEMENTS A WIDE ARRAY OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS, SCHOOL PROGRAMS, AND MUSEUM TOURS. IT ALSO PROVIDES MATERIALS TO HELP VISITORS OF ALL AGES WITH DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, KNOWLEDGE, INTERESTS, PREFERENCES, AND NEEDS GAIN INSIGHT ABOUT THEMSELVES AND THE WORLD AROUND THEM THROUGH AN UNDERSTANDING OF INTERNATIONAL ART AND CULTURE. THE L & CE DEPARTMENT WORKS TO DEEPEN ENGAGEMENT AND UPLIFT COMMUNITY VOICES TO ENCOURAGE NEW, DIVERSE, MULTIGENERATIONAL AUDIENCES THROUGH THE BILINGUAL INITIATIVE AND ESTABLISHING LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS. THIS DEPARTMENT ALSO OVERSEES THE ART & NATURE CENTER (ANC) WHICH SHOWCASES ORIGINAL EXHIBITIONS THAT INVESTIGATE OUR INTERCONNECTIONS WITH NATURE THROUGH CONTEMPORARY ART, MEMORABLE OBJECTS, AND INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES. DESIGNED FOR VISITORS OF ALL AGES, THE FAMILY-FRIENDLY CENTER FEATURES CHANGING EXHIBITIONS, HANDS-ON DISPLAYS, AND ART-MAKING SPACES. THE DEPARTMENT OF LEARNING FOCUSES ON SEVERAL BROAD AUDIENCE AREAS - EARLY CHILDHOOD, K-12 STUDENTS, TEACHERS, FAMILIES, AND ADULTS FROM COLLEGE AGE THROUGH SENIOR CITIZENS - TO OFFER EXPERIENCES AND RESOURCES CONNECTED TO OUR COLLECTIONS, EXHIBITIONS, AND TO THEMES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO ALL OF OUR AUDIENCES TODAY: EQUITY AND BELONGING, WELLNESS, AND CLIMATE + ENVIRONMENT. DURING FY25 (JULY 1ST, 2024 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2025), THE ANC'S GALLERY SPACES WELCOMED AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 47,100 GUESTS (22,500 IN THE CHANGING EXHIBITIONS BATS! REAL AND IMAGINED AND NARWHAL: REVEALING AN ARCTIC LEGEND AND 25,000 IN THE ANC'S ONGOING DISPLAY SPACE KNOWN AS THE POD). THE DEPARTMENT OF LEARNING & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HOSTED 201 DISTINCT PUBLIC PROGRAMS, BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON, WITH 23,601 PARTICIPANTS AND 2,063 VIEWERS, AS WELL AS 118 TOURS FOR ADULT AUDIENCES TOTALING 1289 VISITORS, AND 38 IN-PERSON PROGRAMS AT RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES TOTALING 649 PARTICIPANTS. WE ALSO HOSTED 255 SCHOOL VISITS (RANGING FROM KINDERGARTEN TO COLLEGE) WHICH WELCOMED 8,233 TOTAL STUDENTS AND THEIR EDUCATORS.
- $7.6 million spent. ALL OTHER
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since January 1993.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.