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Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society reported $85.4 million in revenue and $74.2 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $77.63 went to program services, $19.13 to management and general costs and $3.24 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 66.5% of the total. Government grants made up 60.1%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $358,199 (Director & Chief Executive Officer, Board Secretary). 31 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 47% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.
Where $100 of spending went
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $74MFor context, the median across 876 covered arts, culture & humanities charities: $79.98 programs, $13.89 management, $6.13 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $85MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | FY2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 77.6% | 78.5% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 19.1% | 13.6% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 3.2% | 6.0% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.04 | $0.10 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 66.5% | 57.5% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 60.1% | 1.7% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 10.9% | 20.8% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $358,199 | $385,706 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 0.48% | 2.03% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 31 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 54.2 | 36.6 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 33 of 33 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseHistoric Sites and Museums: MNHS operates 26 historic sites and museums throughout the state that allow people to access history through programs, exhibits, and tours. More than 826,600 visitors explored MNHS sites in FY25. Mill City Museum, Minnesota History Center, and Split Rock Lighthouse were the most-visited sites. The Minnesota History Center welcomed Girlhood (It's complicated), a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, which showed how girls have spoken up, challenged expectations, and been on the front lines of social change. In addition to the traveling exhibit, the…
Education, Outreach, and Content Development: MNHS develops Minnesota history curriculum, provides teacher education, and coordinates the Minnesota History Day Program. Approximately 19,000 students from around Minnesota participated in History Day, with 59 students representing Minnesota in the national competition. Those students were awarded 4 medals, 5 finalists, and 7 honorable mentions. MNHS is making significant progress in the revising of Northern Lights, a print and digital curriculum used by more than 90% of sixth grade students in the state, and expects to publish the third edition…
Library and Collections: Our library and collections departments maintain and make available to the public the MNHS's collection of books, newspapers, maps, objects, photographs, works of art, oral history recordings, private manuscripts, and periodicals on Minnesota History. MNHS catalogs, restores, and digitizes documents and records to make them available for public use. MNHS gained 608 new acquisitions in FY25 across manuscripts, fine art, 3D, sound/visual, and maps/rare books. New Acquisitions include the Military Intelligence Service Language School graph collection - a unique set of…
Highest reported compensation
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director & Chief Executive Officer, Board Secretary Officer, 40 hrs/week | $310,836 | $0 | $47,363 | $358,199 |
| Executive Vice President Strategy Key employee, 40 hrs/week | $209,098 | $0 | $22,547 | $231,645 |
| Vice President Advancement Highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week | $174,093 | $0 | $38,823 | $212,916 |
| Vice President Finance Officer, 40 hrs/week | $172,893 | $0 | $38,756 | $211,649 |
| Executive Vice President Mission Enablement Highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week | $171,695 | $0 | $38,681 | $210,376 |
| Senior Vice President Education & Interpretation Highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week | $167,856 | $0 | $38,432 | $206,288 |
| Senior Vice President Library, Research & Collections Highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week | $167,706 | $0 | $38,432 | $206,138 |
| Senior Vice President Historic Sites Highest compensated employee, 40 hrs/week | $162,275 | $0 | $38,090 | $200,365 |
31 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Minnesota Historical Society (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $810K (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
FY2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b33 · 33 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 5703
- Volunteers Part I, line 6752
Largest outside contractors
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| Regents of the University of Minnesota Large grants for Minnesota Digital Library, Restoration at Glensheen Mansion… | $751,111 |
| Digital Reach Online Presence Managment Inc Project managers for implementation of Hubspot CRM project | $625,863 |
| Mill City Owners Association Property Management of the Mill City Museum | $523,721 |
| East View Information Services Inc Minnesota newspaper digitization and microfilm duplication | $425,387 |
| Northern Bedrock Preservation Corps Arts & Cultural Heritage Funds (ACHF) Partnership Projects for leadership &… | $325,000 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 16 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
49 private foundations reported grants to Minnesota Historical Society totaling $6.3M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Minnesota Historical Society's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Minnesota Historical Society, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
Share or embed this breakdown
Of every $100 Minnesota Historical Society spent in FY2025, $77.63 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Similar-sized charities in this cause
- New York Public RadioNew York, NY · revenue $85M · programs 68.8% · FY2025
- The Detroit Institute of ArtsDetroit, MI · revenue $86M · programs 69.3% · FY2025
- North Texas Public BroadcastingDallas, TX · revenue $85M · programs 67.1% · FY2025
- Denver Art MuseumDenver, CO · revenue $87M · programs 83.6% · FY2025
- Music and Event ManagementCincinnati, OH · revenue $85M · programs 83.4% · FY2025
All arts, culture & humanities charities · Largest charities in Minnesota
Questions people ask
How much of Minnesota Historical Society's spending goes to programs?
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Minnesota Historical Society reported that 77.6% of its $74.2 million in expenses went to program services, 19.1% to management and general and 3.2% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Minnesota Historical Society pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Minnesota Historical Society reported for one person in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 was $358,199, for the role of Director & Chief Executive Officer, Board Secretary (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Minnesota Historical Society get its money?
Of $85.4 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, 66.5% came from contributions and grants (including 60.1% from government grants) and 10.9% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Minnesota Historical Society a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 41-0713907 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, object 202621259349301922 · read the filing · XML
- FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, object 202511209349303011 · read the filing
- FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, object 202430959349301218 · read the filing
- FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, object 202341239349301139 · read the filing
- FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, object 202231259349302908 · read the filing
- FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, object 202131319349302103 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 41-0713907: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.