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White Columns Inc

EIN 23-7259446 · New York, NY

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair53 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

WHITE COLUMNS IDENTIFIES SIGNIFICANT EMERGING AND UNDER-REPRESENTED VISUAL ARTISTS AND ENCOURAGES THEIR CREATIVE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE PRESENTATION OF GROUP AND SOLO EXHIBITIONS, AN ONLINE CURATED ARTISTS REGISTRY, AND OTHER PUBLIC PROGRAMS THAT INCREASE DIALOGUE BETWEEN ARTISTS, BETWEEN GENERATIONS OF ARTISTS, AND BETWEEN ARTISTS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

Income
$849,046
Spending
$1.3 million
Spent on programs
63%
Reserves
13.6 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 67%
Employees
8
Volunteers
14
Highest pay
$187,597, director/chief curator

Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 53 out of 100. Higher than 21% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 13.6 months of spending.

  • Debt

    10 of 20

    It owes 35% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    0 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 59% of income.

  • Income trend

    0 of 15

    Income fell 31% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    8 of 15

    63% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 34 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 95% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    14 of 14 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 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 (1)
  1. $844,301 spent. GENERAL EXHIBITIONS: WHITE COLUMNS' SOLO AND THEMATIC GROUP EXHIBITIONS SHOWCASE WORK BY A WIDE RANGE OF EMERGING AND UNDER-RECOGNIZED ARTISTS, OF ALL BACKGROUNDS, WHO HAVE YET TO BENEFIT FROM WIDER CRITICAL, CURATORIAL OR COMMERCIAL SUPPORT. WE ORGANIZED 2 SOLO EXHIBITIONS, 2 LARGE GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND 8 PUBLIC EVENTS (INCLUDING 4 PANEL DISCUSSIONS, 1 SCREENING, 1 CURATOR LEAD WALK THROUGH, AND 2 PERFORMANCES) AS PART OF OUR GENERAL EXHIBITIONS IN FY25.WHITE ROOMS: A CORNERSTONE OF WHITE COLUMNS' EXHIBITION SCHEDULE, THE WHITE ROOMS SERIES GIVES SOLO EXHIBITIONS TO EMERGING ARTISTS. THE SERIES PROVIDES ARTISTS WITH A STRONG BODY OF WORK AN INVALUABLE OPPORTUNITY TO EXHIBIT, FREE FROM THE PRESSURES OF THE COMMERCIAL MARKET. IN FY25, 2 SEPARATE SOLO EXHIBITIONS WERE PRESENTED.CURATED ARTIST REGISTRY: WHITE COLUMNS MAINTAINS A NAVIGABLE DATABASE PRESENTING NEW WORK BY OVER 700 EMERGING ARTISTS WHO DO NOT HAVE COMMERCIAL GALLERY REPRESENTATION IN NEW YORK CITY. THE REGISTRY IS ACCESSIBLE ONLINE AND IS A WIDELY RECOGNIZED RESOURCE, UTILIZED BY INDEPENDENT CURATORS, GALLERISTS, MUSEUM CURATORS, COLLECTORS, AND OTHERS. EACH YEAR THE GALLERY RECEIVES MORE THAN 1,000 SUBMISSIONS, AND THE ARTISTS ARE SELECTED THROUGH A REVIEW PROCESS BY WHITE COLUMNS' CURATORIAL STAFF.WHITE COLUMNS ALSO HAS AN ONGOING SERIES OF ONLINE EXHIBITIONS, WORKING WITH GUEST CURATORS TO PRESENT WORKS DRAWN EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE REGISTRY. THE EXHIBITIONS CAN BE VIEWED ONLINE, DRAWING GREATER ATTENTION TO BOTH THE REGISTRY ITSELF AND THE WORK OF THE 700+ ARTISTS CURRENTLY FEATURED THERE. EACH ONLINE EXHIBITION IS ACCOMPANIED BY A TEXT WHERE THE CURATOR DISCUSSES THE TITLE, THEME, AND RELATIONSHIP OF THE CHOSEN WORKS. IN FY25, 4 ONLINE EXHIBITIONS WERE PRESENTED ONLINE AND REMAINS ACCESSIBLE IN OUR ARCHIVE.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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 September 7, 2026.

  2. 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 September 30, 2026.

  3. 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 September 10, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending August 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since March 1973.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  6. 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 October 7, 2026.

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