Western Folklife Center
Western Folklife Center
Elko NV | IRS ruling year: 1981 | EIN: 87-0447025
Organization Mission
The Western Folklife Center uses story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world.
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Elko NV | IRS ruling year: 1981 | EIN: 87-0447025
Organization Mission
The Western Folklife Center uses story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world.
Great
This charity's score is 100%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores, weighted as follows: 85% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 5% Culture & Community. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
Charity Navigator's ratings previously did not consider Leadership & Adaptability, Culture & Community, or Impact & Results. The historic rating mainly reflects a version of today’s Accountability and Finance score. More information on our previous rating methodologies can be found on our rating methodology page.
Date Published | Overall Rating | ||
8/3/2021 | |||
2/1/2020 | |||
9/3/2019 | |||
5/1/2019 | |||
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990. | |||
10/1/2018 | |||
12/22/2017 | |||
11/1/2016 | |||
6/1/2016 | |||
10/1/2015 | |||
7/1/2014 | |||
8/1/2013 | |||
5/1/2012 | |||
9/20/2011 | |||
10/1/2010 | |||
11/1/2009 | |||
3/1/2009 | |||
5/1/2007 | |||
7/1/2006 | |||
9/1/2005 |
Score
Most Recent Fiscal Year:
FY 2023
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
Learn more
Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. We check to see that a majority of board members are identified as independent on their tax form.
Source: IRS Form 990
Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. For most organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least three independent board members. For large, donor-funded organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least five independent board members
Source: IRS Form 990
An Audit, Review, or Compilation provides important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Organizations are scored based on their Total Revenue Amount:
Total Revenue Amount | Expectation to Receive Credit |
$2 million or higher and 40% or higher donor support | Expected to complete an audit and have an audit oversight committee |
$1 million or higher | Expected to complete an audit |
$500,000 - $1 million | Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation |
Less than $500,000 | No expectation (removed from scoring methodology) |
Source: IRS Form 990
A diversion of assets — any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft — also can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We review the charity's most recent IRS Form 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the IRS Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
For almost all charities, we check the charity's IRS Form 990 to see if it discloses that the Form 990 is available on the charity's website. As with the audited financial statement, donors need easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well.
Source: IRS Form 990
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent IRS Form 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization's solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
Source: IRS Form 990
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three IRS Forms 990). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
Source: IRS Form 990
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Presented here are up to five of this organization's highest compensated employees. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Kristin Windbigler, Executive Di
$149,161
Chrissy Menicucci Benna, Trustee
$0
Rob Dondero, Vice Chair
$0
Jon Griggs, Chair
$0
Scott Hansen, Secretary
$0
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2023
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Western Folklife Center) or EIN (870447025) in the 'Search Term' field.
Not Currently Scored
Western Folklife Center cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Score
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves.
Learn more
100% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. The methodology leveraged for Constituent Feedback is based on The Core Principles of Constituent Feedback, which describes listening and responding well to feedback. Charity Navigator participates in a consortium with other feedback experts and leading nonprofit infrastructure platforms to drive Constituent Feedback's advancement, promotion, and data collection.
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, Other means
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
This organization has not provided information regarding the Equity Practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. This assessment demonstrates the importance of implementing practices that contribute positively to an organization's overall culture, both internally and with respect to community engagement. Furthermore, equity centered frameworks and similar approaches have drawn much attention from donors, experts, and sector leaders who underscore its value to the nonprofit's overall health and capacity for mission success. Currently, the Equity Strategies Checklist assessment consists of practices and policies that promote racial equity in their operations and programs (per the Equity Strategies checklist administered by Candid). As we refine our DEI assessment, Charity Navigator partners with DEI consultants and field experts to broaden and deepen this work.
Score
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Learn more
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
The Western Folklife Center uses story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Explore and give voice to traditional and dynamic cultures of the American West.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Establish a broad channel of distribution for our content and archives through an aggressive media development strategy.
Goal Type: Focus on core programs to achieve mission and scale back on programs not seen as core.
Goal Two: Determine the highest and best use of our current facilities to include potential earned revenue generating opportunities.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Three: Generate revenue in the amount of $2,117,303 from both earned and contributed sources sufficient to sustain the activity and needs determined within this plan.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
What has gotten in the way of your oganization pursuing this investment?
COVID-19 has affected all dimensions of our organization - financial, operational, programmatic, and community relations. The financial impact of COVID-19 in the past year was significant. Western Folklife Center (WFC) leadership and board have managed through the financial losses to this point. WFC is fiscally sound with controls in place including independent financial audits, oversight from an active finance committee, and a responsible budget for the current fiscal year. In 2020, staff transitioned to work remotely, while exhibitions, facility rentals, and other programs, including our flagship event the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, were closed and reopened in phases according to public safety guidelines. Staff pivoted to serve our far flung audiences and artists through online programming strategies. To accomplish this staff has taken on new roles, learned new skills, and adapted to remote work.
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Strategic Partnerships
Raising Awareness
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
Based in Elko, NV, the Western Folklife Center (WFC) is a local and regional cultural center with an exhibition gallery, 300-seat multi-use theater, 20-seat black box theater, historic saloon, gift shop, and archives preserving our over 40-year history of fieldwork and documentation. Governed by a Board of Trustees and a National Advisory Council made up of leaders in Western cultural life, the 8 full-time, 4 part-time, and 2 contract staff work year-round in Elko and around the West, assisted by a cadre of seasonal staff, members, stakeholders and volunteers. As part of efforts to serve and engage underrepresented rural communities, the WFC regularly contracts with community scholars and cultural specialists to serve as fieldworkers, consultants, guest curators, program hosts, and media producers, most recently in programs sharing the artistry of Black, Shoshone/Paiute, veteran, and Basque communities in the region.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
With COVID, staff transitioned to work remotely, while exhibitions, facility rentals, and other programs, including our flagship event the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (NCPG), were closed and reopened in phases according to public safety guidelines, resulting in significant loss in earned and contributed income and draw down in cash reserves. Staff pivoted to serve our far flung audiences and artists through online programming strategies, such as a 10-hour virtual NCPG, online exhibitions, making 12 full shows from previous NCPG's available for streaming by Western Folklife Center members, and 2 to 3 performances per week available to the public via Facebook, Vimeo, and YouTube. We are still recovering from the wave created by COVID and hope to reestablish some of our regular programming soon, including our week long NCPG.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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