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Missouri Humanities Council

EIN 43-1103937 · Kansas City, MO

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair55 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

MISSOURI HUMANITIES IS A STATE-WIDE NONPROFIT THAT EXPLORES HISTORY, CIVICS, AND CULTURE THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMMING.

Income
$3.0 million
Spending
$4.8 million
Spent on programs
89%
Reserves
5.3 months of spending
Largest source of income
government grants, 87%
Employees
15
Volunteers
4
Highest pay
$97,023, executive director

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

Financial health

Fair: 55 out of 100. Higher than 26% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 5.3 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 5% 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 50% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    89% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending October 31, 2025, 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 25

    13 of 13 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 October 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. $4.2 million spent. MISSOURI HUMANITIES OFFERED 197 LIVE AND ASYNCHRONOUS COUNCIL-CONDUCTED PROGRAMS IN 2025. SUBRECIPIENT-CONDUCTED ACTIVITIES TOOK PLACE WITH 443,079 PARTICIPANTS. 506,046 TOTAL MISSOURIANS WERE SERVED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. GRANTSMAJOR GRANTS ARE AWARDED TO HUMANITIES-BASED PROPOSALS TWICE YEARLY FOR UP TO $15,000. MINI GRANTS ARE OFFERED TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOR PROJECTS OF UP TO $5,000. IN FY25, MH DISTRIBUTED A TOTAL OF $1,510,287 IN GRANTS. 90 GRANT-FUNDED PROGRAMS WERE HELD IN FY25, SERVING 404,667 PEOPLE.IDEAS THAT SHAPE OUR SOCIETY.SIGNATURE SERIESWE PROMOTE PUBLIC DIALOGUE THROUGH SCHOLARLY LECTURES, SYMPOSIA, INTERPRETIVE EXHIBITS, AND INTERACTIVE EVENTS. OUR SIGNATURE SERIES IN 2025 WAS MISSOURI VOICES: CIVICS AND CITIZENRY. WE EXPLORED INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE ROLES IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION AS WE EXAMINE THE BOLD "AMERICAN EXPERIMENT" OF A GOVERNMENT RUN BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE, A VISION ROOTED IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 4,153 INDIVIDUALS JOINED US IN PERSON FOR 9 TENT-POLE SIGNATURE SERIES PROGRAMS. MISSOURI HUMANITIES ALSO PRODUCED 5 EPISODES OF THE MISSOURI VOICES PODCAST, WHICH WAS DOWNLOADED 520 TIMES. MISSOURI HUMANITIES PRODUCED THE DOCUMENTARY NOT IN OUR WILDEST DREAMS", WHICH HAD 918 VIEWS.CULTURAL HERITAGEOUR HERITAGE PROGRAMS PROMOTE MISSOURI'S RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE. WE OFFERED 25 UNIQUE PROGRAMS, INCLUDING SCHOLAR PANELS, CULTURAL HERITAGE WORKSHOPS, AND TRAVELING EXHIBITS. WE ALSO HOSTED IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL CAPACITY-BUILDING WORKSHOPS FOR CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE STATE, REACHING AN AVERAGE OF 83 ATTENDEES PER WORKSHOP.VETERANS PROGRAMSTO AMPLIFY VETERAN VOICES AND EXPERIENCES, MH HOSTED TWO VETERANS WRITING WORKSHOPS, CO-PUBLISHED PROUD TO BE: WRITINGS BY AMERICAN WARRIORS, VOLUME 13, AND PRESENTED A PROUD TO BE READING AND ROUNDTABLE. THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, WE ENGAGED 52 VETERANS, MILITARY-CONNECTED FAMILY MEMBERS, AND CIVILIANS.DIGITAL PROGRAMMINGMISSOURI HUMANITIES PROUDLY OFFERS MULTIPLE WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH HUMANITIES-BASED CONTENT FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME OR ON THE GO. FROM FILMS, VIDEO SERIES, PODCASTS, AND RECORDED PROGRAMS, TUNE IN TO EXPERIENCE A VARIETY OF STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE, PLACES, AND IDEAS ROOTED IN THE HUMANITIES. IN FY25, WE EXPERIENCED 57,992 VIDEO VIEWS WITH 2,136 HOURS WATCHED. 3,349 PODCASTS WERE DOWNLOADED. OUR PODCASTS HELP US REACH MORE PEOPLE BY PROVIDING HIGH-QUALITY, ENGAGING STORIES THAT LISTENERS CAN ENJOY ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. EACH YEAR, WE PRODUCE NEW EPISODES OF OUR MISSOURI HUMANITIES SIGNATURE SERIES PODCAST AND THE SMALL TOWN SHOWCASE PODCAST. IN 2025, WE PRODUCED 6 MORE SMALL TOWN SHOWCASE EPISODES AND 5 SIGNATURE SERIES EPISODES. IN TOTAL, OUR PODCASTS RECEIVED 3,349 DOWNLOADS. OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL RECEIVED 36,693 VIEWS, 1,669 HOURS OF VIEWERSHIP, AND 5,146 SUBSCRIBERS. IN SMALL TOWN SHOWCASE, WE STRIVE TO HIGHLIGHT THE UNIQUENESS OF RURAL MISSOURI AND TO SHOWCASE THE BIGGER PICTURE OF WHAT SMALL-TOWN AMERICA REALLY IS AND WHY IT SHOULDN'T BE OVERLOOKED, OVERSHADOWED, OR UNDERAPPRECIATED. EACH YEAR, COMMUNITIES WITH POPULATIONS UNDER 10,000 ARE NOMINATED AND VOTED ON BY MISSOURIANS TO BECOME OUR ANNUAL "FEATURED FIVE" COMMUNITIES, WHO THEN WORK WITH US THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO PRODUCE A PODCAST EPISODE AND SHORT FILM ABOUT THEIR TOWN. IN 2025, OUR FEATURED FIVE WERE ELSBERRY, STE. GENEVIEVE, POTOSI, PRAIRIE HOME, AND TARKIO. H-TV IS MISSOURI HUMANITIES' STREAMING PLATFORM'S CURATED COLLECTION OF FILMS, DOCU-SERIES, AND OTHER DIGITAL STORYTELLING PROJECTS TO CONNECT VIEWERS WITH STORIES, PEOPLE, AND PLACES ROOTED IN THE HUMANITIES. CONTENT ON H-TV INCLUDES PROJECTS PRODUCED BY MISSOURI HUMANITIES, LIKE SMALL TOWN SHOWCASE AND SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILMS, AS WELL AS CONTENT FROM OTHER CREATORS WHO STRIVE TO SHARE STORIES THROUGH FILM. WE ENDED THE YEAR WITH 21,398 USERS.LITERARY PROGRAMSMORE THAN 1,697 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN OUR THIRD ANNUAL HEARTLAND BOOK FESTIVAL, PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE KANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY AND MIDCONTINENT LIBRARY. THE FESTIVAL FEATURED LOCAL AND NATIONAL AUTHORS, PUBLISHERS, AND BOOKSTORES THROUGH AUTHOR TALKS, PANEL DISCUSSIONS, BOOK SIGNINGS, WORKSHOPS, AND BOOKCENTRIC VENDORS. AS THE MISSOURI CENTER FOR THE BOOK, MH REPRESENTED MISSOURI LITERATURE WITH TWO BOOK SELECTIONS AT THE 25TH ANNUAL LIBRARY OF CONGRESS'S NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C.SPEAKERS BUREAUWE PARTNER WITH THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI TO PROVIDE A CATALOG OF 35 EXPERT HISTORIANS, STORYTELLERS, AND SCHOLARS TO GIVE IN-PERSON PRESENTATIONS ABOUT MISSOURI'S CULTURE, HISTORY, ART, AND PEOPLE TO AUDIENCES ACROSS THE STATE. IN FY25, A TOTAL OF 146 PRESENTATIONS WERE HELD ACROSS THE STATE, ATTENDED BY 4,721 INDIVIDUALS.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending October 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 October 13, 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 November 6, 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 October 13, 2026.

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

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

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

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

    Recognized by the IRS since May 1977.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 November 4, 2026.

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