The Eames Institute

Petaluma, CA · EIN 83-3403946 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for calendar year 2024 (tax year 2024) · View the filing · Correct or respond

The Eames Institute reported $65.4 million in revenue and $12.2 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $81.57 went to program services, $18.43 to management and general costs and $0.00 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 96.9% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $584,221 (CEO). 20 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 3662% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.

Where $100 of spending went

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $12M

Program services$81.57 $9.9M
Management & general$18.43 $2.2M
Fundraising$0.00 $0

For 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

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $65M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$96.94 $63M
Investment income$2.38 $1.6M
Other revenue$0.68 $446K

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

2024 filing. Median across 876 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	2024	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	81.6%	78.5%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	18.4%	13.6%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	0.0%	6.0%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.00	$0.10
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	96.9%	57.5%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	0.0%	1.7%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	0.0%	20.8%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$584,221	$385,706
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	4.80%	2.03%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	20	8
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	132.6	36.6
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	1 of 1	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

2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$2.0M expenses · 19.8% of program spending · grants $294K

Continued preservation, archive, and catalog of eames works and related collections in preparation for scholar and general public access

$4.4M expenses · 44.8% of program spending

Education programs. As a newly-formed entity, the institute worked in 2024 on planning and developing its educational programs to include educational tours and workshops related to the agriculture and design of the property

$3.5M expenses · 35.4% of program spending

Continued planning and developing educational programs to include educational tours and workshops of its collection, located in richmond, calif., and related to the agriculture and design of the eames ranch property in petaluma

Highest reported compensation

2024 · 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
CEO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week	$522,995	$0	$61,226	$584,221
CHIEF CURATOR Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$221,255	$0	$67,880	$289,135
CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$209,353	$0	$44,563	$253,916
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$171,902	$0	$36,765	$208,667
SENIOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$176,800	$0	$30,835	$207,635
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF RETAIL Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week	$171,624	$0	$12,125	$183,749

20 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from The Eames Institute (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $584K (Part IX, line 5).

6 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
2024 ⓘ	$65M	$12M	81.6%	$134M	$584,221
2023 ⓘ	$62M	$10M	83.0%	$81M	$356,145
2022 ⓘ	$18M	$6.7M	75.3%	$29M	$383,754
2021 ⓘ	$22M	$4.2M	69.4%	$18M	$324,877
2020 ⓘ	$1.9M	$2.0M	71.8%	$136K	$301,419
2019 ⓘ	$1.7M	$1.5M	55.5%	$251K	$279,427

Governance answers, as filed

2024 · 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–1b1 · 1 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 4No
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 541

Largest outside contractors

2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only

BLUE COLLAR HIGH FASHION LLC Construction services	$216,200
ALPHA KILO CREATIVE LLC Public relations	$142,200

Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 5 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.

Private foundation grants it received

2 private foundations reported grants to The Eames Institute totaling $50,000 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 The Eames Institute's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for The Eames Institute, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

Report a correction Respond as The Eames Institute How this works

Similar-sized charities in this cause

Philadelphia Orchestra Association
Philadelphia, PA · revenue $65M · programs 73.9% · FY2025
Ravinia Festival Association
Highland Park, IL · revenue $66M · programs 80.6% · FY2025
The Exploratorium
San Francisco, CA · revenue $64M · programs 76.6% · FY2025
Kenneth C Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
Chicago, IL · revenue $66M · programs 84.4% · 2024
The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum
Winterthur, DE · revenue $64M · programs 76.7% · FY2025

All arts, culture & humanities charities · Largest charities in California

Questions people ask

How much of The Eames Institute's spending goes to programs?

In calendar year 2024, The Eames Institute reported that 81.6% of its $12.2 million in expenses went to program services, 18.4% to management and general and 0.0% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does The Eames Institute pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation The Eames Institute reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $584,221, for the role of CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does The Eames Institute get its money?

Of $65.4 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 96.9% came from contributions and grants and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is The Eames Institute a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 83-3403946 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

2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202533189349305388 · read the filing · XML
2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202443209349325374 · read the filing
2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202343199349314104 · read the filing
2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202330379349301653 · read the filing
2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202123019349301577 · read the filing
2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202033509349300343 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 83-3403946: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.