Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
PRESERVING AND SHARING THE WORLD'S HANDWRITTEN PAST TO INSPIRE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR PRESENT AND FUTURE. THE ORGANIZATION'S PURPOSE IS TO DIGITALLY PRESERVE ENDANGERED MANUSCRIPTS. ONCE THE DIGITAL IMAGES ARE ACQUIRED, DUPLICATES ARE CREATED FOR ARCHIVAL STORAGE. THE COLLECTIONS ARE CATALOGUED TO IDENTIFY THEM AND THEN MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR SCHOLARSHIP.
- Income
- $3.8 million
- Spending
- $2.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 68%
- Reserves
- 103.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- investment income, 53%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 28
- Highest pay
- $93,621, chief executive officer
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 71% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 103.8 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 37% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 91% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1568% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 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: 93 out of 100. Higher than 63% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2528 of 28 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
0 of 7Reports no 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 (3)
- $1.0 million spent. ACCESS REFERS TO THE PROCESSES BY WHICH HMML MAKES ITS COLLECTIONS (DIGITAL IMAGES OF MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS RECEIVED FROM ITS PRESERVATION SITES) ACCESSIBLE ONLINE FREE OF CHARGE. WHEN RECEIVED FROM THE PRESERVATION SITES, HARD DRIVES OF DIGITAL IMAGES ARE HARVESTED AND ORGANIZED TO CONSISTENT STANDARDS FOR TRACKING PURPOSES; SCANNED FOR MALWARE; AND BACKED-UP FOR ONSITE AND OFFSITE ARCHIVING. EVERY DIGITAL IMAGE IS ROTATED TO UPRIGHT POSITION, ASSIGNED AN IDENTIFYING FILE NAME, AND PREPPED FOR ACCESS IN HMML'S ONLINE READING ROOM (HTTPS://WWW.VHMML.ORG/READINGROOM ). IN FY25, A TOTAL OF 1,039,166 IMAGES WERE RECEIVED FROM HMML'S PRESERVATION PARTNERS, WHICH THEN WERE ORGANIZED, AND PREPARED FOR ONLINE ACCESS. AT THE END OF FY25 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MANUSCRIPTS WITH DESCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE IN HMML READING ROOM WAS 155,504; AND THERE WERE 9,978 REGISTERED USERS OF HMML READING ROOM. THE DIGITAL IMAGES ARE FIRST MADE AVAILABLE TO HMML'S CATALOGING STAFF TO CREATE DESCRIPTIONS SUITABLE FOR ONLINE DISCOVERABILITY. THE CATALOGERS' WORK MAKES EACH MANUSCRIPT DISCOVERABLE BY UNIFORM AND ALTERNATE TITLES, AUTHOR(S), AND LANGUAGE. AT THE END OF FY25 DESCRIPTIONS OF 156,157 MANUSCRIPTS WERE AVAILABLE ONLINE, INCLUDING 101,796 WITH FULL DIGITAL IMAGE SETS AND AN ADDITIONAL 52,836 MANUSCRIPTS PRESERVED IN MICROFORM. IN FY25 ALONE, THE CATALOGING TEAM CREATED 16,500 NEW DESCRIPTIONS OF MANUSCRIPTS. THE HMML AUTHORITY FILE (HTTPS://HAF.VHMML.ORG/), AN OPEN-ACCESS ONLINE DATABASE, PROVIDES ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT AUTHORITIES FOR THE NAMES OF PERSON, PLACES, WORKS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND FAMILIES RELATED TO THE MANUSCRIPTS. IN FY25, 4,456 NEW AUTHORITIES WERE CREATED; 579 OF THESE WERE CONTRIBUTED TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AUTHORITY FILE THROUGH THE NAME AUTHORITY COOPERATIVE PROGRAM (NACO). THE GOAL IS TO MAKE THE HANDWRITTEN HERITAGE OF CULTURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, PREVIOUSLY INACCESSIBLE, AVAILABLE FOR GENERATIONS BOTH NOW AND TO COME.
- $356,541 spent. ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING IS ONE WAY IN WHICH HILL MUSEUM AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY (HMML) SHARES ITS COLLECTIONS. PROGRAMS INCLUDE ONLINE AND IN-PERSON COURSES, INTERNSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS, LECTURES, EXHIBITIONS, AND TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES TO PRESERVATION SITES. IN FY25, 1) 11 FELLOWSHIPS FUNDED BY HMML WERE AWARDED TO VISITING SCHOLARS; 2) 30 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN THE 'WINTER SCHOOL IN ARCHIVAL STUDIES' PROGRAM (DECEMBER 2024); 3) 15 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN A TWO-WEEK ONLINE 'INTRODUCTION TO ARABIC MANUSCRIPT STUDIES' PROGRAM; AND 4) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DUMBARTON OAKS RESEARCH LIBRARY (WASHINGTON, DC) 18 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN TWO IN-PERSON SUMMER SCHOOL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS AT HMML, ONE FOCUSED ON THE GEEZ LANGUAGE AND THE OTHER ON SYRIAC LANGUAGE; 5) A TOTAL OF 182 REQUESTS WERE RECEIVED FOR DIGITAL COPIES OF 307 MANUSCRIPTS. TWO ON-SITE AND TWO VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS WERE CREATED FEATURING MANUSCRIPTS, RARE BOOKS, AND ART PIECES FROM HMML'S COLLECTIONS, CURATED BY STAFF AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT EMPLOYEES. THE GOAL OF ALL ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING IS TO ENGAGE AUDIENCES WITH HMML'S MISSION THROUGH ITS COLLECTIONS.
- $251,901 spent. PRESERVATION IS THE CORE OF HMML'S MISSION. HMML ESTABLISHES PARTNERSHIPS WITH INSTITUTIONAL AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TO DIGITIZE THEIR MANUSCRIPT HOLDINGS, ARCHIVE THE DIGITAL DATA, CATALOG THE MANUSCRIPTS, AND SHARE THEM ONLINE. THERE IS A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS IN DANGER OF BEING LOST OR DESTROYED DUE TO WAR, NATURAL DISASTER, OR HUMAN NEGLECT. ONCE A PROJECT HAS BEEN AGREED, HMML PROVIDES THE EQUIPMENT FOR DIGITIZATION STUDIOS, THE TRAINING NEEDED TO CAPTURE THE MANUSCRIPT IMAGES, AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE DIGITIZATION OPERATIONS. PROJECTS VARY IN DURATION DEPENDING ON SIZE AND CONDITION OF THE COLLECTIONS, WORKING CONDITIONS, AND FACTORS RELATED TO THE LOCATION OF THE PROJECT. IN FY25, HMML HAD ACTIVE PROJECTS IN BOSNIA, EGYPT, INDIA, IRAQ, ITALY, LEBANON, MALTA, MAURITANIA, MONTENEGRO, NEPAL, PAKISTAN, SLOVENIA, THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND YEMEN. (A PROJECT IN GAZA WAS SUSPENDED DUE TO WAR.) A LARGE PORTION OF PRESERVATION COSTS ARE CAPITALIZED AS THE CREATION OF DIGITAL IMAGES. IN FY25, THAT REPRESENTED $477,882 OF PRESERVATION EXPENSES. THE GOAL IS TO PRESERVE THE VOICES OF THE PAST TO HELP US MAKE WISE DECISIONS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.
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 June 2022.
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.