World Chess Museum Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MISSION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES OF THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES IS TO EDUCATE VISITORS, FANS, PLAYERS, AND SCHOLARS BY COLLECTING, PRESERVING, EXHIBITING, AND INTERPRETING THE GAME OF CHESS AND ITS CONTINUING CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC SIGNIFICANCE.
- Income
- $3.5 million
- Spending
- $3.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 4.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 97%
- Employees
- 34
- Volunteers
- 6
- Highest pay
- $140,537, chief curator
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
Weak: 49 out of 100. Higher than 20% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.5 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 63% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 11% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 12% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% 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 255 of 6 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 (3)
- $1.9 million spent. SEE SCHEDULE O.THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES (WCHOFG) CREATES ENGAGING EXHIBITIONS CELEBRATING THE GAME OF CHESS, ITS HISTORY, AND ITS IMPACT ON ART AND CULTURE. THROUGH THESE EXHIBITIONS AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, THE WCHOFG HOPES TO POPULARIZE CHESS AMONG A NEW AND DIVERSE AUDIENCE. THE WCHOFG ALSO SEEKS TO SERVE AS A REPOSITORY FOR ARTIFACTS RELATED TO THE RICH HISTORY OF THE GAME OF CHESS. SOUND MOVES: WHERE MUSIC MEETS CHESSMAY 17, 2023 - JANUARY 28, 2024WITH EXTRAORDINARILY RICH HISTORIES IN COMMON, IT IS NO WONDER THAT THERE ARE INNUMERABLE POINTS OF INTERSECTION BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE STORIES OF CHESS AND MUSIC. FROM MASTER CHESS PLAYERS WHO ARE DEEPLY PASSIONATE ABOUT WRITING, PLAYING, AND EXPERIENCING MUSIC TO WORLD-RENOWNED MUSICIANS WITH INSATIABLE APPETITES FOR BOTH THE COMPETITIVE AND COLLABORATIVE ASPECTS OF CHESS, THE ART OF MUSIC AND THE SPORT OF CHESS HAVE ENJOYED AN ENORMOUSLY PRODUCTIVE AND MUTUALLY INFLUENTIAL PARTNERSHIP OVER THE CENTURIES. BUT THE PLAYERS OF CHESS AND THE PERFORMERS AND PRODUCERS OF MUSIC WHO SHARE AN INTEREST IN EACH OTHER'S DISCIPLINE ARE ONLY ONE FACET OF THE MANY DIMENSIONS THAT COMPRISE THE LARGER PICTURE OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ART AND CHESS.WITH COMPELLING, EYE-CATCHING OBJECTS, A DIVERSE SOUND PALETTE, AND VIDEOS THAT WILL ENTERTAIN AND INFORM, SOUND MOVES WILL APPEAL TO CHESS ENTHUSIASTS OF ALL LEVELS, WRITERS, PERFORMERS, AND LOVERS OF DIVERSE GENRES OF MUSIC, AND NOVICES OF BOTH ACTIVITIES WITH AN INTEREST IN POPULAR CULTURE AND A DESIRE TO BE EXPOSED TO A FASCINATING STORY FEATURING A THOUGHTFUL AND DYNAMIC PRESENTATION.T.S. ELIOT: A GAME OF CHESSMAY 17, 2023 - MARCH 24, 2024T. S. ELIOT: A GAME OF CHESS EXPLORES ELIOT'S FAMOUS POEM, THE WASTE LAND, THROUGH THE THEME OF CHESS. AFTER WORLD WAR I, THE SPANISH FLU, AND HIS FATHER'S DEATH, ELIOT WROTE THE WASTE LAND, A POEM EXPRESSING GRIEF AND FEELINGS OF ALIENATION IN A RAPIDLY MODERNIZING SOCIETY. SITUATED JUST STEPS FROM HIS PARENT'S HOME IN SAINT LOUIS' CENTRAL WEST END, THIS EXHIBIT FEATURES ARTIFACTS AND MULTIMEDIA DISPLAYS RELATING TO ELIOT'S POEM, HIS CHESS METAPHORS, AND THE MANY STRANDS OF HIS LIFE THAT HE WOVE INTO HIS WRITING.BORN IN MIDTOWN SAINT LOUIS IN 1888, T. S. ELIOT WENT ON TO BECOME AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED POET, BRITISH CITIZEN, AND NOBEL PRIZE WINNER. IN 1922, HE PUBLISHED WHAT BECAME HIS MOST FAMOUS POEM, THE WASTE LAND, INCLUDING A SECTION ENTITLED "A GAME OF CHESS." THIS EXHIBIT WILL CENTER ON ELIOT'S USE OF CHESS IN THIS POEM AND CIRCLE OUTWARD TO WAYS IN WHICH THE WASTE LAND REFLECTS HIS SAINT LOUIS CHILDHOOD, HIS PERSONAL AND FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS, THE CULTURAL WOUND OF WORLD WAR I, AND THE POET'S DEEP READING IN LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY.CHESS WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE POET'S LIFE AS A FORM OF CONNECTION TO HIS FATHER, WITH WHOM HE PLAYED TRANSATLANTIC CHESS BY LETTER BEFORE HIS DEATH IN 1919, AND AS A PASTIME WITH HIS WIFE WHEN COMMUNICATION FAILED. ELIOT WORKED CHESS INTO THE WASTE LAND THROUGH THE THEME OF ROYALTY, SPECIFICALLY THE FISHER KING WHOSE ILLNESS PARALLELS THE "WASTING" OF THE LAND, ECHOED BY REFERENCES TO OTHER KINGS AND QUEENS FROM SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS, AND THROUGH CHESS AS A METAPHOR FOR SEXUAL INTRIGUE, DRAWING ON TWO RENAISSANCE PLAYS BY THOMAS MIDDLETON, A GAME AT CHESS AND WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN. IN ELIOT'S POEM, AN UNHAPPY COUPLE SPARS VERBALLY, THE WIFE REPRESENTED AS A QUEEN ON "A BURNISHED THRONE." THEY MAKE CONVERSATIONAL MOVES BUT DO NOT CONNECT WITH ONE ANOTHER. ULTIMATELY, THE HUSBAND SILENTLY ENVISIONS THE ENDGAME OF THEIR DAY: AND WE SHALL PLAY A GAME OF CHESS, / PRESSING LIDLESS EYES AND WAITING FOR A KNOCK UPON THE DOOR." IN A POEM CONCERNED WITH CONNECTION AND DISCONNECTION ("I CAN CONNECT / NOTHING WITH NOTHING"), HIS CHESS IMAGERY SUGGESTS PEOPLE SEEKING UNION AND UNDERSTANDING BUT INSTEAD BETRAYING AND DISAPPOINTING ONE ANOTHER. WOVEN INTO THE THEME OF ROYALTY ARE GESTURES OF GRIEF FOR THE PASSING OF HIS FATHER, WHO WAS A KIND OF "KING" IN SAINT LOUIS AS THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE HYDRAULIC PRESS BRICK COMPANY.DONNA DODSON: MATCH OF THE MATRIARCHS AND OTHER AMAZONOMACHIESFEBRUARY 15, 2024 - SEPTEMBER 15, 2024DONNA DODSON: MATCH OF THE MATRIARCHS AND OTHER AMAZONOMACHIES IS THE FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION BY A FEMALE ARTIST HOSTED BY THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES. THE SHOW, WHICH CENTERS ON WOMEN'S STORIES, WOMEN'S LIVES, AND THEIR PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF CHESS, INCLUDES DODSON'S MONUMENTAL, LIFE-SIZED CHESS SET MATCH OF THE MATRIARCHS, WHICH CONTAINS 32-LARGE SCALE WOODEN SCULPTURES REPRESENTING ALL-FEMALE REPRESENTATIONS OF CEPHALOPODS BATTLING CETACEANS.THE EXHIBITION ALSO SHOWCASES EIGHT ADDITIONAL "AMAZON" SCULPTURES DEPICTING HISTORICAL, LITERARY, AND MYTHOLOGICAL FEMALE HEROES, INCLUDING FIGURES FROM MULAN AND BLACK PANTHER; A MINOTAUR; TOMYRIS, A QUEEN OF TURKEY; REFERENCES TO AN AUNT; CYBELE; AND LAKSHMIBAI, A QUEEN OF INDIA.DEBUTING IN THE EXHIBITION IS THE MADWOMAN OF CHESS OR AUTONOMOUS WAS A WOMAN, COMMISSIONED BY THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES. SHE WILL BE PART OF THE MUSEUM'S PERMANENT COLLECTION. THIS DYNAMIC AND POWERFUL SCULPTURE HARKENS BACK TO THE BACKLASH RECEIVED WHEN THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE RULES OF CHESS THE QUEEN TRANSFORMED FROM A PIECE WITH LIMITED MOVEMENT TO ONE THAT COMBINED THE POWERS OF THE BISHOP AND THE ROOK. SOME CALLED THIS NEW VERSION OF THE ANCIENT GAME "MADWOMAN'S CHESS."DONNA DODSON, A BOSTON AREA SCULPTOR, HAS BEEN CARVING IMAGES OUT OF WOOD FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS. HER SCULPTURES EXPLORE FEMININE BEAUTY AND EVOKE HUMOR, PLAYFULNESS, GRACE, POWER, AND EMOTIONAL STRENGTH. HER UNIQUE VISION RESPONDS TO THE RELATIONSHIPS OF ANIMALS TO THE HUMAN SPIRIT THAT HAVE EXISTED SINCE ANCIENT TIMES. HER FIGURES ARE ALMOST ALWAYS FEMALE AND RANGE IN SIZE FROM THE INTIMATE TO THE MONUMENTAL.THE EXHIBITION CENTERS ON WOMEN'S STORIES AND LIVES AND WOMEN'S HISTORY IN CHESS. SUPPLEMENTING THE DISPLAYS OF DODSON'S ARTWORK ARE MARINE-RELATED CHES
- $787,122 spent. EDUCATION AND ADULT PROGRAMMING: IN KEEPING WITH ITS MISSION OF INTERPRETING THE GAME OF CHESS AND ITS CONTINUING CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC SIGNIFICANCE, THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES OFFERS LOW-COST EDUCATIONAL AND MUSICAL PROGRAMMING. IN THE EVENING, THE ORGANIZATION HELD PROGRAMMING EVENTS WITH VISITING ARTISTS, COMPOSERS, MUSICIANS, SCHOLARS, CURATORS, AND CHESS PROFESSIONALS.
- $430,020 spent. RETAIL STORE:SUPPORTS THE MISSION OF THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES BY OFFERING CHESS AND CHESS RELATED MERCHANDISE AND MERCHANDISE RELATED TO OR SUPPORTING THE ITEMS ON DISPLAY IN THE HALL OF FAME AND IN THE EXHIBITION HALLS AS WELL AS MERCHANDISE INTENDED TO ATTRACT VISITORS TO THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES.
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 2007.
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.
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