Atlanta Historical Society Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER SEEKS TO CONNECT PEOPLE, HISTORY, AND CULTURE TO BUILD A STRONGER COMMUNITY. THROUGH EXHIBITIONS, COLLECTIONS, HISTORIC HOUSES, GARDENS, ARCHIVES, EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL TOURS, PUBLIC PROGRAMS, AND DIGITAL AND VIRTUAL PROGRAMS AND CONTENT, WE ENCOURAGE OUR CONSTITUENTS TO CONSIDER OUR SHARED PAST IN A DYNAMIC CONTEXT, PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BROADER PERSPECTIVE. ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER-BUCKHEAD IS COMPRISED OF THE ATLANTA HISTORY MUSEUM, WHICH IS ONE OF THE LARGEST HISTORY MUSEUMS IN THE COUNTRY AND FEATURES SIGNATURE, TEMPORARY, AND TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS; GOIZUETA GARDENS INCLUDING 33 ACRES OF CURATED GARDENS, WOODLANDS, AND TRAILS; THREE HISTORIC HOUSES AND ASSOCIATED BUILDINGS: SWAN HOUSE, SMITH FARM, AND WOOD CABIN; AND KENAN RESEARCH CENTER. ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER-MIDTOWN INCLUDES MARGARET MITCHELL HOUSE, WHICH CONTAINS THE APARTMENT WHERE MARGARET MITCHELL WROTE GONE WITH THE WIND, ALONG WITH EXHIBITION GALLERIES; AND COMMERCIAL ROW, WHICH CONTAINS A TEMPORA
- Income
- $31.3 million
- Spending
- $21.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 75%
- Reserves
- 38.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 60%
- Employees
- 207
- Volunteers
- 138
- Highest pay
- $589,523, president/ceo
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
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 61% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 38.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 32% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 28% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1574% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 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 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 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 (2)
- $11.1 million spent. Atlanta History Center consists of a 33-acre campus in Buckhead that includes the Atlanta History Museum, Goizueta Gardens, Kenan Research Center, and three historic houses, and Atlanta History Center-Midtown, which includes the Margaret Mitchell House, exhibition space, and event space. Atlanta History Museum is one of the largest history museums in the country. Through signature, temporary, and traveling exhibitions, visitors can explore the history of Atlanta and the southeast from the land's original inhabitants until the present day. The museum also includes the fully-restored The Battle of Atlanta cyclorama painting in the multimedia experience Cyclorama: The Big Picture. All exhibitions and digital content are supported by the museum collections. The museum artifact collections are particularly strong in American Civil War and Reconstruction, Atlanta businesses and home life, period furniture and decorative arts, and a significant collection of fashion and textiles. The living collections of the Atlanta History Center are presented throughout Goizueta Gardens, containing 9 distinct thematic gardens: Gilbert Quarry Garden, Smith Farm gardens, Swan House Garden, Swan Woods, Sims Asian Garden, Rhododendron Garden, Olguita's Garden, Veterans Park, and the Entrance Gardens. For people looking to conduct research, Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center is a free public archives and special collections library offering a multitude of resources for the study of Atlanta and Southern regional history and culture. Dedicated collections include decorative arts, Southern architecture, genealogy, military history, railroads, and southern gardens. Copies of historic photographs, prints, and other archival materials can be purchased through Kenan Research Center. The historic houses provide unique and interactive access points to history, and include Smith Farm, Swan House, Wood Cabin, and Margaret Mitchell House. The Smith farmhouse (listed on the National Register as the Tullie Smith farmhouse), Swan House, and Margaret Mitchell House (listed on the National Register as Crescent Apartments) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Smith Farmhouse and detached kitchen were built in the 1840s. The site also includes relocated structures and replicas of other likely structures including a cabin interpreted as an enslaved persons residence, a reconstructed blacksmith shop and barn, and a 19th century corn crib. The site is presented in the 1860s through interpretation for children and adults with heirloom crops and live heirloom breed animals. The 1928 Swan House, designed by Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze, provides a glimpse into the lives of those who lived and worked in the mansion during the 1930s. The 1840s Wood Cabin helps visitors learn about the lives of white settlers in the southeastern United States and first contact with Native Americans, including the Muskogee people. Margaret Mitchell House is located in the heart of midtown at Atlanta History Center Midtown. The house features the apartment where Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind. The building also includes other exhibition galleries. The campus includes a separate building called Commercial Row, a refurbished historic retail space that serves as an event space used for author programs, gallery installations, and private events. Atlanta History Center served more than 80,000 people either on-campus or off-campus throughout the year.
- $4.7 million spent. Atlanta History Center produces a rich array of interactive, dynamic programs and exhibitions. Community Days, such as Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, activate our entire 33-acre campus with museum theatre performances, educational simulations, guest lectures, historical crafting demonstrations, and opportunities for children and adults to experience history firsthand, while also including digital and virtual components. Atlanta History Center also hosts a Fulton County University of Georgia 4-H Extension Office and the StoryCorps Atlanta recording studio through onsite partnerships, which allows those institutions to further their complementary missions and increase awareness of Atlanta History Center and our mission Our school tours take schoolchildren through interactive experiences to help them learn about civil rights, the Civil War, Native Americans, and Georgia farm life, while school outreach programs and Travel Trunks take history out into the classroom through presentations and activities. School programs are also offered virtually. School programming served over 44,000 children this year. Toddler programs, summer camps, and Homeschool Days bring engaging, interactive fun to learning about history. For adults, Author Talks bring engaging speakers to Atlanta, virtually and in person. Each year, more than 48 author talks at both campuses and online focus on a variety of genres, including biography, history, memoir, cooking, historical fiction, literary fiction, and more. Thousands of people attend these talks each year. Each program includes time for a question and answer session as well as a book signing with the author at in-person events.
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
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 October 13, 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 June 2025.
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 August 1944.
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 October 21, 2026.
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