Historic Santa Fe Foundation Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- Only 43% of its spending went to programs.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
Our mission is to preserve, protect and promote the historic properties and diverse cultural heritage of the Santa Fe area, and to educate the public about Santa Fe's history and the importance of preservation.
- Income
- $542,537
- Spending
- $716,779
- Spent on programs
- 43%
- Reserves
- 78.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 75%
- Employees
- 7
- Volunteers
- 14
- Highest pay
- $94,142, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 70 out of 100.
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 78.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 32% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 72% on the year before.
Spending floor
0 of 1543% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 42 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100.
Independent board
25 of 258 of 8 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, 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 (3)
- $250,617 spent. Protecting Historic Properties Historic Preservation (Architectural Conservation)1. Performed conservation work on Foundation-owned property, 545 Canyon Road, and made earth plaster repairs on property wall, restored historic wood screen door elements, reglazed historic window panes, and maintained plumbing and lighting fixtures. Repairs to historic brick paver bedding and rodent intrusion mitigation. Earthen plaster re-coating on areas of the main structures north face. 2. Performed conservation work at the Edwin Brooks House, 553 Canyon Road, including roof repairs and restoration of its William Penhallow Henderson-designed entrance gate. 3. Engaged with the Santa Fe Extension Master Gardeners for ongoing maintenance of the garden at El Zagun, 545 Canyon Road.4. Continued to refine the process for monitoring and management of all preservation easements held by the Foundation. Annual visits and inspections with owners of existing easements held by the foundation were made.
- $55,680 spent. Research and Education1. The Member Lecture Series, Salon El Zagun offers monthly informational lectures to our membership base, as well as the general public. For these lectures, we bring in experts in their fields to discuss a variety of topics, related to Santa Fe, New Mexico, History and/or all of the above. This year we had Nicolasa Chavez on the history of chocolate; Julianne Burton-Carvajal on Josefa Bustos; Chuck Wolfe on Urban Observation in Santa Fe; Elizabeth Comer on the Roots of James L Johnson; Sylvia Rodriguez on Acequias and Acequia Culture in New Mexico; Mulham Alkharboutli on discoveries made during his Preservation Internship with HSFF; Lillian Makeda on the History of the Santa Fe Style of Interior design; Tours of La Fonda with a trained Docent; and a docent-led tour of the Gustave Baumann exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Art.2. Presented, along with the City of Santa Fe Historic Preservation Division and the Old Santa Fe Association, the Heritage Preservation Awards in May 2025 at San Miguel Chapel, 401 Old Santa Fe Trail. Produced an advertisement with local paper for the awards. 3. Presented two Architectural Stewardship Awards in 2025. The first was to the Dorothy McKibbin House, in recognition of the owners model stewardship, maintaining the exterior and interior of the house, outbuildings, and landscape, conscientiously applying preservation practices, great care and effort, planning, design, and execution of the renovation and remodels of their house. The second was to the owners of the Plaza Chamisal compound for their significant preservation, restoration, and renovation of their homes over the past 25 years. 4. Held monthly art exhibitions for El Zagun resident artists and invited outside artists. Exhibitions included a joint exhibition with Carla Caletti, One Hundred Percent Exhibition (group show), Mary Olson, Wendy Fay, Julia Tait Dickenson, Esteban Ismael Duran, Robert King, Elizabeth Chiles, Rebecca Lee Kunz, Jacob Sisneros, Dominic Capello, Mulham Alkharbourli and Bette Yozell. The following artists gave talks: Carla Caletti, Dominic Capello, Bonnie Bishop, Mary Olson, Wendy Fay, Juia Tait Dickenson, Esteban Ishmael Duran, Elizabeth Chiles, Rebecca Lee Kunz, Jacob Sisneros, Mulhan Alkharbourtli and Bette Yozell.5. University of New Mexico graduate student Ryuichi Nakayama completed his work as the Foundations Mac Watson Fellow. He completed his research and writing and the Foundation approved his nomination for the Plaza Balentine Compound. Under the mentorship of Dr. Audra Bellmore, University of New Mexico professor and curator of the John Gaw Meem archives, Nakayama completed the research and wrote the nomination for the Plaza Balentine Compound.6. Approved and added the listings of the Plaza Balentine Compound and William Penhallow Henderson Studio to the HSFF Register of Properties Worthy of Preservation.7. Continued with the online blog with articles from staff and student writers for dissemination of activities and news of the foundation, including conference updates, tributes to former board directors who passed and their impact on the foundation, and students writings on their time at the Foundation and research they completed.8. Published two printed newsletters containing substantial articles, interviews, and preservation news.9. Held the annual meeting of Foundation members in the El Zagun garden in June with guests from the School for Advanced Research and presentation by Melanie McWhorter on the state of the Foundation and various people speaking in tribute to Nancy Owen Lewis.10. Maintained and updated website for the Foundation with events, event calendars, and information on all related properties owned, easements, and the Register of Properties Worthy of Preservation. 11. Expanded the YouTube page with several Salon recordings, gallery walkthroughs, and El Zagun related videos. Uploaded Salon Talks (5), Gallery Walk-throughs (9), Gallery talks (4), other El Zagun videos (4).12. Continued to develop the related mobile application for Old Santa Fe today, 5th edition, and released it to app stores and the public. 13. Held walking and shuttle bus tours including Modern Elder Academy, La Fonda Hotel, and Dar al Islam. This year, the first Preservation Symposium at the Santa Fe History Museum was launched, bringing in experts and locals to discuss preservation in Santa Fe. A year-end fundraiser and musical performance by Mariachi Sonidos del Monte was held at San Miguel chapel. 14. Hosted four fundraising events for our Stewards group at El Buen Hogar, The Eleanor Bedell House, Plaza Chamisal, and the Hunt House. 15. Partnered with the Santa Fe Extension Master Gardeners for tours and workshops in the El Zagun garden.16. Trained one volunteer to work at the front desk and assist with other staff tasks. Five front desk volunteers that were trained in previous years have continued. Four volunteers were trained to work in the archives. 17. Partnered with the Santa Fe Teen Center, 6600 Valentine Way, to teach students about architecture, history of architecture in New Mexico, and adobe. The class designed and built a bench out of adobe, modeled after a sphinx. 18. The High School Research Fellowship program continued in 2025. In Spring 2025, there was one student. She researched, designed, and presented on her informational panels for John Gaw Meems Architectural Offices which are now Santa Fe Preparatory Schools Arts building. Seven juniors and seniors from Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe Indian School, and Santa Fe preparatory school were selected to participate in the 2025-2026 session. They met monthly with various professionals to learn more about history, research, and writing history papers. Fellows started research on their interests and will continue in 2026. 19. The Edwin Brooks House, 553 Canyon Road, began to function as the Eugene and Clare Thaw Education and Research Center. Staff continued to relocate files to t
- $3,577 spent. Preservation Trades InternshipThe Faith and John Gaw Meem Preservation Trades Internship was implemented for an 8-week, 320-hour period. Faith and John Gaw Meem Preservation Trades Intern Mulham Alkharboutli conducted hands-on preservation work at El Zagun, 545 Canyon Road. Projects included restoration and replacement of rough timber door jambs and rebuilding of double wooden doors on lower adobe storage space. Additional projects involved replastering the front entrance wall and other areas of El Zagun, and repairs and repainting of wooden floors in resident artists apartments.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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 December 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 1963.
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.
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.