WATKINS GLEN MOTOR RACING RESEARCH COUNCIL INC Charity Report

Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

WATKINS GLEN MOTOR RACING RESEARCH COUNCIL INC

EIN 16-1572964 · Arts, Culture & Humanities (A540)

What they do

THE INTERNATIONAL MOTOR RACING RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTS, SHARES and PRESERVES THE HISTORY of MOTORSPORTS. SPANNING CONTINENTS, ERAS and RACE SERIES, THE CENTERS COLLECTION EMBODIES THE SPEED, DRAMA and CAMARADERIE of AMATEUR and PROFESSIONAL MOTOR RACING THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THE CENTER WELCOMES SERIOUS RESEARCHERS and THE CASUAL FANS ALIKE to SHARE STORIES of RACE DRIVERS, RACE SERIES, and RACE CARS CAPTURED ON OUR SHELVES and WALLS, and BROUGHT to LIFE THROUGH A REGULAR CALENDAR of PUBLIC LECTURES and SPECIAL EVENTS. THE CENTERS COLLECTION DOCUMENTS THE HISTORY of RACING IN THE MORE THAN 4000 BOOKS or 250 DIFFERENT MOTORSPORTS MAGAZINES and NEWSPAPERS TITLES; CLUB and SANCTIONING BODY RECORDS; RACE RESULTS, PROGRAMS and POSTERS; PAPERS of MOTORSPORTS JOURNALISTS and SCHOLARS; CORRESPONDENCE of RACE ORGANIZERS; and STILL and MOVING IMAGES HOUSED ONSITE and IN OUR EXPANDING OFFSITE COLLECTIONS STORAGE FACILITIES. ITS KNOWLEDGEABLE RESEARCH and ARCHIVES STAFF ASSISTS HUNDRE

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check

The spending raises an important question

Of every $100 spent, about $22.60 was reported for mission work and $53.00 for fundraising. Understand this before you give.

Plain answer: A tax form cannot prove that a charity is doing good. It can show how the charity says it spent its money—and point out questions you should ask.

Basic facts we verified

IRS warning checkNo IRS revocation warning appears in this data.

Money report from 2025The charity has a recent tax report to read.

They explain their jobThe charity tells us what it is trying to do.

They name their leaders18 people are listed in the latest report.

You can reach themThey list contact information, so you can ask questions.

Money made simple

19.28%of revenue went to mission work22.6% of expenses · Program services

45.28%of revenue went to fundraising53.0% of expenses

$85.39spent for every $100 of revenueRevenue covered expenses this year.

20.83%of revenue went to management and office costs24.4% of expenses

$4.66in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.

74.0%of its money came from giftsOther money may come from services or investments.

Ask these three easy questions

Who did you help? Ask for a recent story or report that shows real results.
What will my money do? Ask exactly what your gift will pay for.
Is this really the charity? Give only through its official website or confirmed phone number.

Pay context: The highest compensation shown in this filing is $65,665 for MARK STEIGERWALD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THROUGH 7/2025). Compare pay with organizations of similar size and complexity.

Bottom line: Do not decide from a name, mission statement, or tax status alone. Look at where the money went, then ask what changed, who was helped, and what your gift will do. YouCanGiveBack does not endorse or grade organizations.

Money

Financial picture

Tax year 2025

A plain-language look at the latest Form 990 figures available. These numbers help you ask better questions; they do not, by themselves, rate whether a charity is good or bad.

$100revenue

How each $100 of revenue was used

The large number compares each expense with revenue. The smaller number shows its share of total expenses.

Total reported revenue$1,377,697

Mission workProgram services$265,63519.28% of revenue22.6% of expenses

ManagementOffice and general costs$286,96920.83% of revenue24.4% of expenses

FundraisingAsking for donations$623,87245.28% of revenue53.0% of expenses

Revenue left after expensesReported annual surplus$201,22114.61% of revenueShown in gray on the chart

Total expenses$1,176,47685.39% of revenue

Gray means reported revenue left after expenses for this filing year. It does not necessarily mean cash sitting in a bank account.

Pause before giving. This filing reports that 53.0% of spending went to fundraising and 22.6% went to mission work. Ask the charity to explain these numbers and show recent results.

Has the pattern changed?

Colored bars = expense mix: how each year’s expenses were divided. Total expenses vs. revenue shows whether the charity spent less or more than it received. The current filing is first.

YearExpense mixDetails

2025CurrentExpense mix: 22.6% mission · 24.4% management · 53.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 85.39% of revenue

2024Expense mix: 24.6% mission · 26.9% management · 48.6% fundraisingTotal expenses: 82.09% of revenue

2023Expense mix: 33.7% mission · 39.5% management · 26.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 125.09% of revenue

2022Expense mix: 30.1% mission · 31.4% management · 38.6% fundraisingTotal expenses: 96.90% of revenue

2021Expense mix: 29.4% mission · 33.4% management · 37.2% fundraisingTotal expenses: 66.52% of revenue

2020Expense mix: 35.4% mission · 28.7% management · 36.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 90.36% of revenue

2019Expense mix: 48.7% mission · 34.9% management · 16.4% fundraisingTotal expenses: 85.26% of revenue

2018Expense mix: 52.5% mission · 46.7% management · 0.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 80.98% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$1,377,697

Expenses$1,176,476

Annual surplus $201,221 Revenue was higher than expenses for this filing year.

Reported spending amounts

Mission work means the Form 990 category called program services. These are reported accounting categories—not an independent measurement of results.

Mission work (program services)$265,635 · 22.6% of expenses

Management and office costs$286,969 · 24.4% of expenses

Fundraising$623,872 · 53.0% of expenses

See all reported dollar amounts

Revenue$1,377,697

Expenses$1,176,476

Assets$5,487,428

Income$3,606,084

Contributions$1,018,978

Mission work (program services)$265,635

Fundraising$623,872

Management and general$286,969

Stocks and bonds$4,615,045

Accounting fees$24,285

Investing fees$42,397

People

Leadership and board

Tax year 2025

Names, titles, time, and compensation below are reported by the organization on its Form 990.

People reported as paid

Person and titleCompensation

MARK STEIGERWALDEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THROUGH 7/2025 · 40 hrs/week $65,665

MARGARET LAWRENCEEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · 40 hrs/week $50,000

Compensation alone does not tell whether pay is reasonable. Consider the charity’s size, work, location, and results.

See everyone listed on the board or leadership roster (18)

MARK STEIGERWALDEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THROUGH 7/2025

MARGARET LAWRENCEEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LARRY KESSLERVICE CHAIRMAN

SCOTT WELLIVERTREASURER

ROB ROESSELTRUSTEE

PHYLLISA DESARNOTRUSTEE

PHIL HENDERSONTRUSTEE

NICHOLAS CRAWTRUSTEE

MICHAEL KANALEYTRUSTEE

BEREN ARGETSINGERSECRETARY

JOHN R SAUNDERSCHAIRMAN

JOHN CGORSLINETRUSTEE

EVAN FAY EARLETRUSTEE

DINAH GUELDENPFENNIG WEISBERGTRUSTEE

DAWN BURLEWTRUSTEE

CHRIS DYSONTRUSTEE

CHIP WILETRUSTEE

BILL BRANSONVICE CHAIRMAN

About this charity

Recognized since: January 1999
Location: 610 S DECATUR ST, WATKINS GLEN, NY 14891-1613
County: Schuyler
In care of: JOHN R SAUNDERS
Primary officer: JOHN R SAUNDERS, CHAIRMAN

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Phone(607) 535-9044

Filing and classification

Latest tax year: 2025
Tax period began: January 1, 2025
Return type: 990
Tax preparer: MENGEL METZGER BARR & CO LLP
NTEE classification: Arts, Culture & Humanities (A540)