George Eastman Museum
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MISSION OF THE GEORGE EASTMAN MUSEUM, AS A RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION, HAS THREE INTERRELATED GOALS:(CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O) -PROVIDE LEADERSHIP IN THE FIELDS OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMA;-PRESERVE AND DEVELOP OUR WORLD CLASS COLLECTIONS OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMA, AS WELL AS GEORGE EASTMAN'S ESTATE, A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK; AND-SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES, IN GREATER ROCHESTER AND ELSEWHERE
- Income
- $14.3 million
- Spending
- $10.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 78%
- Reserves
- -3.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 50%
- Employees
- 127
- Volunteers
- 231
- Highest pay
- $231,553, director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 65 out of 100. Higher than 36% 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 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 28% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 27% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1578% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 11 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2529 of 30 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
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (2)
- $2.5 million spent. MUSEUM OPERATING ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS: IN 2024, APPROXIMATELY 99,800 PEOPLE VISITED THE GEORGE EASTMAN MUSEUM. THIS LARGE INFLUX OF VISITORS WAS FROM THE ROCHESTER COMMUNITY AND FROM AROUND THE WORLD. OUR VISITORS EXPERIENCED PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITIONS, SELF-GUIDED AND MOBILE TOURS OF GEORGE EASTMAN'S HISTORIC HOUSE AND GARDENS, FILM SCREENINGS, THE DISCOVERY ROOM FOR INTERACTIVE YOUTH LEARNING, AND THE MUSEUM STORE AND EATERY. THE MUSEUM CONTINUED TO OFFER A ROBUST SCHEDULE OF ONLINE PROGRAMING THAT FOSTERED ENGAGEMENT WITH A GLOBAL AUDIENCE. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)THE MUSEUM CONTINUED EXPANDING ITS RESOURCES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE ONLINE, INCLUDING ITS ONLINE DATABASE OF OUR COLLECTIONS WITH OVER 360,000 OBJECTS; OVER 50 FINDING AIDS FROM OUR ARCHIVAL HOLDINGS, AND AN EXTENSIVE ARRAY OF ONLINE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDINGS. THE MUSEUM'S L. JEFFREY SELZNICK SCHOOL OF FILM PRESERVATION, ONE OF THE FIRST GRADUATE SCHOOL PROGRAMS IN FILM PRESERVATION, WITH MORE THAN 300 ALUMNI EMPLOYED IN PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS IN 30 COUNTRIES, FURTHER DEVELOPED ITS CURRICULUM RELATED TO DIGITAL PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES. THE MUSEUM REVITALIZED AND RENEWED ITS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS, WHICH ARE DEDICATED TO THE DIVERSE POPULATION OF K-12 STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN THE ROCHESTER COMMUNITY. THE MUSEUM CREATED AND PROVIDED FOR PRE-K THROUGH COLLEGE AGE STUDENTS EXPERIENCES THAT EMPHASIZE PARTICIPATORY LEARNING AS WELL AS FOSTER VISUAL AND DIGITAL LITERACY, THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND GLOBAL COMPETENCE.
- $5.6 million spent. COLLECTIONS, PRESERVATION AND EXHIBITIONS: THE MUSEUM IS THE STEWARD OF THE WORLD'S LEADING COLLECTIONS IN PHOTOGRAPHY, MOVING IMAGES, CONTEMPORARY MOVING IMAGE ARTWORKS AND TECHNOLOGY. THE PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION, AMONG THE OLDEST AND BEST IN THE WORLD COMPRISES MORE THAN 400,000 OBJECTS DATING FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF THE MEDIUM IN 1839 THROUGH TO THE PRESENT DAY. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)IT ENCOMPASSES WORKS MADE IN ALL MAJOR PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES-FROM DAGUERREOTYPE TO DIGITAL - FOR A WIDE RANGE OF PURPOSES, FROM DOCUMENTARY RECORD TO ARTISTIC EXPRESSION.THE MOVING IMAGE COLLECTION IS ONE OF THE LARGEST (28,000 FILMS) AND MOST IMPORTANT IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH A FOCUS N THE HISTORY AND PRESERVATION OF CINEMA. ITS HOLDING INCLUDE THOUSANDS OF RARE AND HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT FILMS, AS WILL AS ARCHIVAL EPHEMERAL RELATED TO MOTION PICTURES, SUCH AS FILM STILLS, CELEBRITY PORTRAITS, DOCUMENTS, AND PRODUCTION MATERIALS. THE MUSEUM PRESENTS A PROGRAM OF TWO-MONTH EXHIBITIONS OF (MOSTLY CONTEMPORARY) MOVING IMAGE ARTWORKS IN A DEDICATION SPACE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE TECHNOLOGY COLLECTION HOLDS THE WORLD'S LEADING COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CINEMATROGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY. CONSISTING OF OVER 19,000 OBJECTS, THE COLLECTION OFFERS AN UNPARALLELED OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND MOVING IMAGES. CAMERA EQUIPMENT FOR VIRTUALLY EVERY FORM OF LENS-BASED PHOTOGRAPHY FROM ITS INVENTION TO TODAY, INCLUDING THE CAMERAL MODEL FOR THE LUNAR ORBITER. THE MUSEUM'S PRINCIPAL FACILITIES ARE LOCATED ON THE TEN-ACRE PROPERTY FORMERLY OWNED BY GEORGE EASTMAN (1854-1932). EASTMAN'S 35,000 SQUARE-FOOT MANSION WAS RESTORED AND REOPENED TO THE PUBLIC IN 1990 AS A HISTORIC HOME, WHICH INCLUDES HIS FURNISHINGS, DECORATIVE ART, RELATED ARTIFACTS FROM HIS HOME. IT INCLUDES THREE HISTORIC GARDENS AND THE GEORGE EASTMAN STUDY CENTER, WITH SUBSTANTIAL HOLDINGS OF THE CORRESPONDENCE, PHOTOGRAPHS, FILMS AND PERSONAL ITEMS RELATED TO GEORGE EASTMAN. THE RICHARD AND RONAY MENSCHEL LIBRARY IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED COLLECTIONS OF BOOKS, PERIODICALS AND OTHER MATERIAL ON PHOTOGRAPHY AND MOVING IMAGES. IT'S HOLDING OF 50,000 OBJECTS, INCLUDE COMPREHENSIVE, INTERNATIONAL, UP-TO-DATE MATERIALS ON THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY; LITERATURE ABOUT MOTION PICTURES, TELEVISION AND VIDEO WHICH COVERS THE SILENT PERIOD TO THE DIGITAL AGE; AND AN EXTENSIVE AND IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF RARE BOOKS ON PHOTOGRAPHY AND MOVING IMAGES. THE MUSEUM HAS AN ACTIVE BOOK PROGRAM FOCUSED ON CATALOGS RELATED TO OUR EXHIBITIONS. IT HAS PRODUCED MORE THAN 75 PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING 13 SCHOLARLY AND BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED BOOKS ON PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMA, THREE OF WHICH HAVE RECEIVED AWARDS. DURING 2024 THERE WERE EIGHT PROJECTS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF PRODUCTION. THE MUSEUM'S ACTIVE PROGRAM OF TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS OR PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGE WORKS ARE PRESENTED YEAR-ROUND IN FIVE GALLERIES, INCLUDING THE RECENTLY OPENED GALLERY OBSCURA. THIS GALLERY HAS A UNIQUE ROLE - FEATURING EXHIBITIONS CREATED OR PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND SCHOOL AND YOUTH PROGRAMS. THE PROJECTS FOCUS ON GREATER ROCHESTER AND EXHIBITIONS FROM THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTIONS THAT ARE THEMATICALLY RELATED TO COMMUNITY EVENTS. IN 2024 THE MUSEUM ACQUIRED 1179 OBJECTS, DISPLAYED 14 EXHIBITIONS, AND LENT COLLECTION OBJECTS TO MUSEUMS AROUND THE WORLD. IN OCTOBER 2024, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MUSEUM'S SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY, LIFE WITH PHOTOGRAPHS - 75 YEAR OF THE EASTMAN MUSEUM OPENED. IN THIS EXHIBITION, WE PAY HOMAGE TO THE LONG HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM, WHILE ALSO CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ONGOING CONVERSATIONS, CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATIONS, AND NEW UNDERSTANDINGS OF HOW PHOTOGRAPHY HAS INUNDATED AND SHAPED LIVES. THE EXHIBITION COMPRISED SEVEN SECTIONS, EACH FOCUSING ON STRENGTHS OF THE COLLECTIONS AND OUTLINING APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING THE AMORPHOUS MEDIUM KNOWN AS PHOTOGRAPHY.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 December 2024.
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 August 1949.
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.