Woodmere Art Museum Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO INSPIRE CREATIVITY, LEARNING AND SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH EXPERIENCES WITH THE ART AND ARTISTS OF PHILADELPHIA AND THE REGION.
- Income
- $9.1 million
- Spending
- $3.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 77%
- Reserves
- 13.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 85%
- Employees
- 33
- Volunteers
- 142
- Highest pay
- $263,877, executive director and ceo
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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 89% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 13.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 3% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 62% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 88% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1577% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 7 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 65% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2520 of 20 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 (4)
- $865,094 spent. EDUCATION - EXHIBITIONS AT WOODMERE SERVE AS A PLATFORM FOR ONGOING SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, LECTURES, GALLERY TALKS, FAMILY FESTIVALS, SCHOOL PROGRAMS, "ART OF OBSERVATION" PROGRAMS WITH MEDICAL SCHOOLS, AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS FEATURING TOP SCHOLARS AND ARTISTS. CLASSES ARE TAUGHT BY EDUCATORS AND PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS. APPROXIMATELY 3,300 ADULTS AND CHILDREN WERE ENROLLED IN ART CLASSES IN 2024.
- $592,314 spent. COLLECTIONS - CARING FOR WOODMERE'S COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 10,000 WORKS OF ART IS A PRIMARY ACTIVITY OF THE INSTITUTION. THE FOUNDER'S COLLECTION, THE CORE OF WHICH REMAINS ON VIEW AT WOODMERE TO THIS DAY, CONCENTRATES ON POST-CIVIL WAR AMERICAN PAINTINGS, WORKS BY PHILADLPHIA ARTISTS OF THE 19TH CENTURY, AND LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS OF THE HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL. WOODMERE ALSO HOLDS ONE OF THE NATION'S PREMIER COLLECTION OF PENNSYVANIA IMPRESSIONISTS, THE CIRCLE OF VIOLET OAKLEY, THE CIRCLE OF ARTHUR B. CARLES, AND MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART OF PHILADELPHIA. REALISM, MODERNISM, PRINTMAKING, CONCEPTUAL ART, AND MANY OTHER THREADS OF ART HISTORY HAVE DISTINCT AND SIGNIFICANT CONFIGURATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA, MAKING WOODMERE'S COLLECTION AN IMPORTANT CULTURAL ASSET OF THE CITY. CITY.
- $539,538 spent. Woodmere is a dynamic museum that continues to grow in the vitality of its exhibitions and programming. It is the only art museum solely focused on the work of artists of the Philadelphia region. The museum engages a growing and increasingly diverse audience through ten or more changing exhibitions and vibrant year-round programming. The collection of approximately 11,000 works of art includes the largest concentration of work by Violet Oakley and her circle, as well as important works by Charles Willson Peale, Benjamin West, Thomas Sully, Frederic Church, Arthur B. Charles, Bo Bartlett, and many others. In addition, Woodmere's Helen Millard Children's Gallery showcases five exhibitions annually of art made by children representing the model projects in arts education that can be replicated by teachers. The museum also offers an experience of outdoor sculpture in the context of nature and the environmental features of the museum's grounds. Woodmere continues to develop and integrate the experience across the grounds in a manner that brings art in conversation with environmental science and horticultural interest. Further engagement with the public is provided through an expansive array of educational programs, such as a music series program, lectures, tours, and film. In the fall of 2021, Woodmere acquired a 17,000 square-foot mansion named Frances M. Maguire Hall for Art and Education at Woodmere Art Museum which will allow for a major transformative expansion of the museum's exhibition and outdoor spaces. In addition, this expansion will provide a new drop-in art space for school groups and families and will augment the museum's highly successful educational programming described above. MAJOR TRANSFORMATIVE EXPANSION OF THE MUSEUM'S EXHIBITION AND OUTDOOR SPACES.IN ADDITION, THIS EXPANSION WILL PROVIDE A NEW DROP-IN ART SPACE FOR SCHOOL GROUPS AND FAMILIES AND WILL AUGMENT THE MUSEUM'S HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING DESCRIBED ABOVE. WOODMERE IS ACCREDITED BY THE AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS, A DISTINCTION HELD BY APPROXIMATELY THREE PERCENT OF ALL MUSEUMS NATION WIDE. ALSO, ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, WOODMERE IS DESIGNATED A SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURE THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE CHARACTER OF THE CHESTNUT HILL HISTORIC DISTRICT IN PHILADELPHIA.
- PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL MANSION WHICH HOUSES MUSEUM'S WORKS OF ART.
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 September 1940.
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.