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Dia Center for the Arts Inc

EIN 23-7397946 · New York, NY

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong95 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

DIA ART FOUNDATION IS COMMITTED TO ADVANCE, REALIZE, AND PRESERVE THE VISION OF ARTISTS. DIA'S NAME COMES FROM THE GREEK WORD FOR "THROUGH," WHICH REFLECTS ITS ROLE AS A CONDUIT FOR VISIONARY ART PROJECTS. SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1974, DIA HAS COMMISSIONED, SUPPORTED, PRESENTED, AND PRESERVED EXCEPTIONAL ARTWORKS, AND FOSTERED LASTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS. DISTINGUISHED BY ITS CONSTELLATION OF SITES, DIA ADVANCES THE EXPERIENCE, APPRECIATION, AND SCHOLARSHIP OF ART THROUGH IN-DEPTH, SINGLE-ARTIST EXHIBITIONS, PERFORMANCES, PUBLICATIONS, PUBLIC AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, AND THE MAINTENANCE OF PERMANENT SETTINGS OF WORKS OF ART.

Income
$41.9 million
Spending
$27.5 million
Spent on programs
76%
Reserves
71.7 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 57%
Employees
248
Volunteers
34
Highest pay
$842,757, director

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

Strong: 95 out of 100. Higher than 82% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 71.7 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 1% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 34% of income.

  • Income trend

    10 of 15

    Income fell 2% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    76% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 10 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: 100 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    34 of 34 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 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)
  1. $15.4 million spent. EXHIBITIONS AND LONG-TERM PROJECTS: DIA MAINTAINS 12 PERMANENT SITES AND LOCATIONS. DIA'S THREE LOCATIONS FOR PRESENTING CHANGING EXHIBITIONS ARE DIA BEACON IN BEACON, NY; DIA BRIDGEHAMPTON, IN BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY; AND DIA CHELSEA IN NEW YORK, NY. DIA'S LARGEST EXHIBITION FACILITY IS DIA BEACON, WHICH HOUSES 240,000 SQUARE-FEET OF EXHIBITION AND PUBLIC PROGRAM SPACE USED FOR PUBLIC VIEWING OF THE PERMANENT COLLECTION, TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS, A BOOKSHOP AND CAFE. DIA BRIDGEHAMPTON AND DIA CHELSEA PRESENT SINGLE-ARTIST TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS.DIA'S LONG-TERM, SITE-SPECIFIC PROJECTS ARE LOCATED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND INCLUDE: WALTER DE MARIA'S THE LIGHTNING FIELD (1977) LOCATED IN NEW MEXICO, ROBERT SMITHSON'S SPIRAL JETTY (1970) LOCATED IN THE GREAT SALT LAKE IN UTAH, NANCY HOLT'S SUN TUNNELS (1973-76) LOCATED IN THE GREAT BASIN DESERT IN UTAH, AND CAMERON ROWLAND'S DEPRECIATION (2018); TWO PERMANENT GALLERY INSTALLATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY BY WALTER DE MARIA, THE NEW YORK EARTH ROOM (1977) AND THE BROKEN KILOMETER (1979), AND THE DAN FLAVIN ART INSTITUTE LOCATED IN BRIDGEHAMPTON, NEW YORK. THESE INSTALLATIONS ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE LIGHTNING FIELD, FOR WHICH AN OVERNIGHT STAY IS REQUIRED. IN FISCAL YEAR 2025, DIA BEACON PRESENTED CONTINUED COLLECTION INSTALLATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS OF LARRY BELL, MELVIN EDWARDS, IMI KNOEBEL, STANLEY BROUWN, SENGA NENGUDI, ROBERT IRWIN, BLINKY PALERMO, MAREN HASSINGER, ANDY WARHOL, MARY HEILMANN, RITA MCBRIDE, MEG WEBSTER, FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES, STEVE MCQUEEN, AND LAWRENCE WEINER, AND OPENED NEW LONG-TERM PRESENTATIONS OF WORK BY RENEE GREEN, CAMERON ROWLAND, LUCAS SAMARAS, RONI HORN, AND KEITH SONNIER. DIA BRIDGEHAMPTON PRESENTED WORK BY LILIANA PORTER FOLLOWED BY A NEW EXHIBITION OF AMY SILLMAN WORK. DIA CHELSEA PRESENTED PROJECTS BY DELCY MORELOS AND STEVE MCQUEEN, AS WELL AS ECHOES FROM THE BORDERLAND, AN INNOVATIVE SOUND INSTALLATION BY VALERIA LUISELLI, RICARDO GIRALDO, AND LEONARDO HEIBLUM.
  2. $1.4 million spent. PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND EDUCATION: DIA OFFERS EDUCATIONAL AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS IN BEACON AND NEW YORK CITY AND EMPLOYS 30 EDUCATORS WHO DESIGN AND LEAD ORIGINAL PROGRAMS FOR WIDE-RANGING PUBLIC AUDIENCES. ACROSS ITS SITES BASED IN NEW YORK, DIA OFFERS A VARIETY OF HANDS-ON, ARTIST-LED, PUBLIC PROGRAMMING FOR ALL AGES; ARTIST-LED TOURS; PAID, YEAR-ROUND, ARTIST-LED PROGRAMMING FOR HIGH-SCHOOL AGED YOUTH (IN NYC, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY'S DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT); AND PAID APPRENTICESHIP, FELLOWSHIP, AND INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AGES 18-26. DIA CHELSEA, LOCATED IN NEW YORK CITY, HOSTS PUBLIC PROGRAMMING INCLUDING THE ARTISTS ON ARTISTS LECTURE SERIES; THE CONTEMPORARY POETRY SERIES POETRY &; AND ACTIVATIONS, AN OFF-SITE INTERGENERATIONAL STUDIO PROGRAM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NYC'S DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & RECREATION. DIA BEACON, LOCATED IN THE HUDSON VALLEY, HOSTS AN ANNUAL ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAM, AN ARTIST-IN-SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP WITH EVERY SCHOOL IN THE BEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT; AN INTENSIVE SUMMER PROGRAM FOR K-12 ENGLISH LANGUAGE-LEARNERS; FAMILY-FOCUSED PROGRAMMING INCLUDING PLAY SETS (IN-GALLERY LEARNING) AND SATURDAY STUDIO (HANDS-ON STUDIO WORKSHOPS); ARTIST-LED PROGRAMMING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EVERGREEN MINDS, AN ORGANIZATION CENTERED ON PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARE PARTNERS AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY; SEASONAL DIATALKS; PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ARTIST-LED GUIDED TOURS; AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL CLASSROOM EDUCATORS. IN RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS SITES IN THE AMERICAN WEST, DIA OFFERS FIELDWORK, A PROGRAM INVITING YOUNG PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN DIA'S LONG-TERM YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT INITIATIVES TO PROPOSE AND DEVELOP ORIGINAL PROJECTS THAT CRITICALLY ENGAGE WITH DIA'S SITES, MISSION, PROGRAM, AND ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNERS, AND THEIR RELATED ENVIRONMENTS AND COMMUNITIES. IN A TYPICAL PROGRAM YEAR, APPROXIMATELY 10,000 PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING AT DIA. ALL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING IS OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE, AND FOR PROGRAMS SERVING YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS, TRANSPORTATION AND IN-PROGRAM MEALS ARE COVERED BY DIA. ADDITIONALLY, FREE ADMISSION IS OFFERED TO ALL AT DIA'S NEW YORK CITY LOCATIONS, WHILE CITIZENS OF BEACON AND ITS NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION TO DIA BEACON; RESIDENTS OF THE HUDSON VALLEY RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION TO DIA BEACON ON THE LAST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH.
  3. $878,522 spent. PUBLICATIONS: IN 2025, DIA PUBLISHED SENGA NENGUDI: POPULATED AIR.DIA'S PUBLICATION PROGRAM HAS PRODUCED OVER 75 VOLUMES INCLUDING MONOGRAPHS, ANTHOLOGIES, AND COLLECTIONS OF CRITICISM AND SCHOLARSHIP. THROUGH THESE PUBLICATIONS DIA HAS ESTABLISHED A TRADITION OF RIGOROUS SCHOLARSHIP AND STRIVES TO OFFER IN-DEPTH EXPLORATIONS OF ITS EXHIBITIONS, SITES, AND PERMANENT COLLECTION.
  4. $3.4 million spent. CURATORIAL RESEARCH, PRESS, MARKETING, PRINTED MATERIALS

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

  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 June 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 September 1974.

    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.

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.