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Sonoma Valley Historical Society Inc

EIN 94-2430797 · Sonoma, CA

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceGood79 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

Sonoma Valley Historical Society (the Society) is a not-for-profit culturalinstitution founded in 1937 and its mission is to provide a forum and a resource for the study and dissemination of Sonoma Valley history for present and future generations by identifying collecting,preserving and sharing artifacts, documents and images.

Income
$135,755
Spending
$124,713
Spent on programs
83%
Reserves
32.3 months of spending
Largest source of income
investment income, 58%
Employees
0
Volunteers
11

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

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 85% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 32.3 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 0% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 8% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 2% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    82% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 10 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

Good: 79 out of 100. Higher than 72% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    11 of 11 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

    0 of 7

    Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    0 of 10

    Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports 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 (1)
  1. $102,843 spent. The Society maintains an archive and research center at the Marcy House, an historic building leased from the City of Sonoma. In 2019 the Society continued to inventory and catalog historic documents about the Sonoma Valley in its collection and provided access to the collection to the public.The Society operates the Depot Park Museum for the City of Sonoma. The Society uses it collections to present exhibitions for the public several times a year at the Museum and also provides tours of the exhibits at the Museum to school groups.The California State Library, through their California Revealed Project, granted funds for the inventorying and cataloguing of 1500 archival items by personnel of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society. The California Revealed program alsog accepted over 1800 rare Sonoma Valley newspapers nominated by the Sonoma Valley Historical Society for digitizing that will be made available to the public online on the Internet Archive website.California Missions Paintings - The Society acquired and then restored the entire oil painting collection of California Missions by Mattie Fountain.History and Me, Third Grade Project-Through a grant from a donor, the program engaged third grade students in the history of their community and fulfilled Common Core Social Studies standards as well as involving mathematics and writing skills.

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

  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 October 13, 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 December 2024.

    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 August 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 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.