Heard Museum

“Membership in the heard museum shall be open to all persons upon payment of such dues as the board of trustees may from time to time establish.”

“There is a support organization within the heard museum, the heard museum guild, that elects its officers. The president of the guild is designated as a trustee of the museum per the governing documents. This is the only member of the museum board that is elected by membership.”

“The form 990 is prepared by an outside accounting firm and reviewed by the cfo, coo, and president/ceo, with a final review by the audit committee and the board of trustees before filing with the irs.”

“In connection with any actual or possible conflicts of interest, an interested person must disclose the existence and nature of his or her financial interest to the trustees and members of committees with board delegated powers considering the proposed transaction or arrangement. After disclosure of the financial interest, the interested person shall leave the board or committee meeting while the financial interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists. In any case where the heard enters into a transaction in which a trustee is an interested party, the trustee shall not participate in any decisions concerning the source of the conflict. This provision shall also apply in any case where a family member of a trustee is employed by or is a contractor to the museum and shall include any discussions or decisions related to employment or other association, performance evaluation or compensation of a family member. Each trustee and member of a committee with board delegated powers shall annually sign a statement which affirms that such person (a) has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy,(b) has read and understands the policy,(c) has agreed to comply with the policy, and(d) understands that the heard is a tax-exempt organization and that in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.”

“The search and executive committees of the board of trustees review the salary of the director prior to employment initiations. Executive compensation is reviewed against the most recent american alliance of museums national museum salary survey report. The committees discuss the compensation of other non-profit organizations in the process. The committees last reviewed the director's salary in 2015 prior to the hiring of the new director/ceo who started january 2016. The ceo/museum director reviews the salaries of key employees periodically including a comparison of the compensation of other local not-for-profit organizations.”

“The articles of incorporation, by-laws, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are made available to the public upon request.”

“The heard museum is a private non-profit museum that pursues an educational mission of educating the public about the arts and history of american indians and other indigenous peoples of the americas with an emphasis on peoples of the southwest usa. The heard accomplishes this task by: organizing exhibits that showcase both its collection of more than 44,000 fine artworks and cultural artifacts in its permanent collection and artworks from others; holding special events that highlight one or more aspects of native art, cultures, and/or history; hosting more than 7,500 school children touring the museum each year; supporting the careers of american indian artists in the heard museum shops and books & more, a boutique bookstore and gift shop; offering indigenous ingredients within the menu of the museum's cafe and coffee cantina; and by offering programming such as lectures, book signings and presentations by experts in art, history, and cultures. Approximately 108,000 people visited the museum during the year.”

“During fiscal 2016, management of the museum determined that a portion of charitable gift annuity had been improperly included in permanent restricted net assets in the amount of $665,657 dating back to 2010. There were no restrictions associated with the charitable gift annuity. This correction of an error results in decreasing permanently restricted net assets and increasing unrestricted net assets by $665,657 as of september 30, 2015. The restatement had no effect on the change in net assets for the year ended september 30, 2015. During fiscal 2016, management of the museum determined that a perpetual trust dating back to 1932, in the original amount of $75,000 was improperly reflected as unrestricted net assets and should have been permanently restricted. Additionally, the perpetual trust is consolidated for audited financial statement purpose, but is excluded for form 990 purposes. Accordingly, the $75,000 was removed from the beginning permantely restricted net asset column. The restatement had no effect on the change in net assets for the year ended september 30, 2015.”

“Change in gift annuity 3,566.”

“There has been no change in either the oversight process or the selection process during the tax year.”