Arts, Culture & Humanities (A500) 990 on File

BESSIE SMITH CULTURAL CENTER AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM &

EIN: 62-1247459 · CHATTANOOGA, TN 37403-4100 · United States · FY 2025 Data

3 out of 5 47 / 100 Based on 2+ years of filings

Financial strength (30%) 69/100

Reliability (20%) 55/100

Effectiveness (25%) 61/100

Impact (25%) No data yet

Financial data: FY 2025 · Scored 9/13/2026

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CharityAI™ Score

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Financial Overview — FY 2025

$660K

Total Revenue

$671K

Total Expenses

$781K

Net Assets

Employees

Revenue Sources

Expense Breakdown

Program Expense Ratio 61.8%

Fundraising Efficiency N/A

Operating Reserve 13.96x

Liability-to-Asset 1.0%

Revenue Diversification 56.5%

Executive Compensation $90K

Compared with Peers

FY 2025

Compared with 7,068 similar organizations (United States, Arts, Culture & Humanities, $100K–$1M in expenses), FY 2025.

This organization Middle half of peers (P25–P75) Peer median

Ratio	This org	Peer median	Position (P10 → P90)
Program expense ratio Program expenses / total expenses · higher is better	61.8%	81.9%	P10P90	Bottom quarter
Admin expense ratio Management and general / total expenses · lower is better	38.2%	13.7%	P10P90	Bottom quarter
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expenses / total expenses · lower is better	0.0%	0.0%	P10P90	Top quarter
Operating reserve Months of expenses covered by net assets · higher is better	14.0 mo	9.4 mo	P10P90	Above median
Liabilities to assets Total liabilities / total assets · lower is better	1.0%	1.5%	P10P90	Above median
Revenue concentration Share of revenue from the largest source · lower is better	56.5%	77.2%	P10P90	Top quarter
Revenue growth Year over year revenue growth	-12.3%	6.7%	P10P90
Expense growth Year over year expense growth	9.4%	5.9%	P10P90
Surplus margin Surplus as a share of revenue	-1.8%	2.4%	P10P90

Financial History

Year	Revenue	Expenses	Net Assets	Program %	Staff
2025	$660K	$671K	$781K	61.8%	7
2024	$752K	$613K	$793K	44.3%	8
2023	$729K	$726K	$650K	65.6%	7
2022	$800K	$770K	$648K	56.3%	6
2021	$883K	$722K	N/A	—	7

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Organization Details

EIN: 62-1247459
State: TN
City: CHATTANOOGA
ZIP: 37403-4100
Classification: A500
Category: Arts, Culture & Humanities
Rating: 3★
Coverage: A
Last Updated: Aug 2026
Form 990: On File

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CharityAI™ rates charities from 0 to 100 using public filings (IRS Form 990 and the equivalent registries outside the US) together with the information the charity itself provides on DonationX. Ratings are recalculated every quarter, without human bias, and shown as stars.

Four pillars

Financial strength30%

Program expense ratio, fundraising efficiency, operating reserves, liabilities and revenue diversification, compared with similar organizations.

Reliability20%

Standing with the registry, filing history, verification and how complete the profile is.

Effectiveness25%

How much goes to programs and how consistently the organization delivers them.

Impact25%

The outcomes the charity reports on DonationX: people served, cost per service and results.

Stars

★★★★★ 80–100 ★★★★☆ 60–79 ★★★☆☆ 40–59 ★★☆☆☆ 20–39 ★☆☆☆☆ 1–19

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