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RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART AKA THE SHELLEY & DONALD RUBIN CULTURAL TRUST
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 226799567 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE T23 · Philanthropy & Grantmaking · Large ($10M-$50M) · rubinmuseum.org
revenue
$15.6M
expenses
$17.4M
net assets
$198.6M
employees
67
volunteers
55
program ratio
67%
mission · from form 990

THE RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART IS A DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT THAT STIMULATES LEARNING, PROMOTES UNDERSTANDING, AND INSPIRES PERSONAL CONNECTIONS TO THE IDEAS, CULTURES, AND ART OF HIMALAYAN ASIA.

profile · synthesized from sources

The Rubin Museum of Art fosters engagement with the art and cultures of Himalayan Asia through exhibitions, public programs, and digital initiatives. It offers educational experiences for school children, mindfulness meditation sessions, and professional development for educators, while supporting contemporary artists and researchers through grants and awards. The museum operates globally through digital platforms and collection-sharing partnerships with institutions worldwide.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $2.27M
    PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND VISITOR ENGAGEMENT:THE RUBIN'S PUBLIC PROGRAMS OFFER DIVERSE AUDIENCES MEANINGFUL WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH THE ART AND CULTURES OF THE HIMALAYAS. IN 2024, ADULT WORKSHOPS AND TALKS CENTERED ON THE UNIFYING THEME OF REFRAME, INSPIRED BY THE BUDDHIST CONCEPT OF NON-ATTACHMENT, SPARKING CONVERSATIONS ON HOW RELEASING ATTACHMENTS CAN CREATE SPACE FOR NEW WAYS OF SEEING, THINKING, AND BEING. HIMALAYAN HERITAGE PROGRAMS PROVIDED INSIGHTS INTO THE ART, CULTURES, AND SACRED TRADITIONS OF THE HIMALAYAN REGION, AND WEEKLY MINDFULNESS MEDITATION SESSIONS INVITED PARTICIPANTS TO FIND STILLNESS, INSPIRED BY AN ARTWORK FROM THE RUBIN'S COLLECTION. WE SERVED VISITORS WITH ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARE PARTNERS, AS WELL AS CLOSE TO 4,000 SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN AND ACCOMPANYING ADULTS, OFFERING THEM CUSTOM OFFERINGS INFORMED BY MINDFULNESS AND HIMALAYAN ART AND CULTURES. WE WORKED WITH 225 LOW-INCOME STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS AS PART OF OUR MATH AND MANDALAS PROGRAM, AND EDUCATORS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS, PROVIDING THEM WITH AN ENTRE TO THE RUBIN'S MANDALA LAB CURRICULUM. EXPANDING OUR GLOBAL INITIATIVES, WE LAUNCHED A GRANT PROGRAM AND THE RUBIN MUSEUM HIMALAYAN ART PRIZE WITH THE AIM OF SUPPORTING THE WORK OF ARTISTS AND RESEARCHERS INSPIRED BY HIMALAYAN ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL PRACTICES.
  2. #2 $1.75M
    PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING (DIGITAL AND ANALOG SHARING):IN 2024, THE RUBIN REACHED A GROWING AND CONNECTED GLOBAL AUDIENCE THROUGH OUR DIGITAL INITIATIVES. WE LAUNCHED A PARTNERSHIP WITH SMARTHISTORY, THE MOST-VISITED ART HISTORY RESOURCE IN THE WORLD, TO CREATE ACCESSIBLE VIDEOS ABOUT OBJECTS IN OUR COLLECTION; PUBLISHED VIDEOS THAT INTRODUCED AUDIENCES TO CONTEMPORARY HIMALAYAN ARTISTS; RECEIVED 376,500 DOWNLOADS OF OUR AWAKEN AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION PODCASTS AROUND THE WORLD; AND PUBLISHED THE EIGHTH EDITION OF SPIRAL, OUR FREE ANNUAL PRINT AND ONLINE MAGAZINE. THE RUBIN'S IMPACT EXTENDED THROUGH VARIOUS DIGITAL PLATFORMS WITH CLOSE TO 300,000 FOLLOWERS, AND A DIGITAL REACH OF MORE THAN 8 MILLION.
named programs · 6 · from sources

What they call their work

Mandalas Lab Curriculum
Educational program providing educators with tools to teach mindfulness and Himalayan art concepts to students
Math and Mandalas Program
Engages low-income students in schools through curriculum that integrates mathematics with mandala art from Himalayan traditions
Mindfulness Meditation Sessions
Weekly meditation programs inspired by artworks in the Rubin’s collection, offered in-person and virtually
Project Himalayan Art
Digital interdisciplinary resource offering accessible learning about Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art and cultures
Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize
An annual unrestricted $30,000 award supporting contemporary artists and researchers inspired by Himalayan art and culture
Spiral Magazine
Free annual print and online publication featuring essays, interviews, and multimedia content on Himalayan art and ideas
activities · 8 groups

What they do

  • Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs 2 activities
    • Delivering social-emotional learning programs using Himalayan art
      Provides in-school programs for New York City students using SEE Learning® principles and Himalayan art to build emotional awareness and compassion, including activities like creating personalized crowns, mandala color lessons, board games for decision-making, and optical illusions to shift perspective; served thousands of school-age children and educators through customized mindfulness-informed programs.
    • Supporting schools and educators through Math and Mandalas and professional development
      Engages low-income students in the Math and Mandalas program and offers professional development workshops for educators to introduce them to the Mandala Lab curriculum and Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning framework.
  • Tibetan Cultural Preservation and Language Education 1 activity
    • Building academic capacity in Himalayan studies
      Supports integration of Himalayan art into higher education through faculty summer institutes, curricular resources, public lectures, and academic collaborations with university students and faculty to strengthen humanities teaching related to East, South, and Inner Asia.
  • Artist Support Grants 1 activity
    • Funding artists and scholars in Himalayan art
      Awards annual grants and the Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize—an unrestricted $30,000 prize—to support contemporary artists, creatives, and scholars working with Himalayan artistic and cultural practices; funded 32 research and art projects totaling $400,000 in awards.
  • Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
    • Hosting public and family engagement events
      Hosts free family art-making activities inspired by its collection and organized large-scale virtual events such as a block party with 25 partners that welcomed over 3,600 families and adults.
  • Podcast and Radio Production 1 activity
    • Producing and distributing mindfulness and meditation podcasts
      Reaches global audiences through Rubin Museum podcasts, including Awaken and mindfulness meditation series, achieving over 1 million listens across 165 countries and 376,500 downloads.
  • Artist and Curatorial Publications 1 activity
    • Publishing scholarly and public-facing content on Himalayan themes
      Produces and distributes Spiral magazine, including issue 10 on wrath in Tibetan Buddhism featuring 15 articles and new illustrations, with print copies distributed at exhibition venues and ongoing online publication planned through 2026; also publishes object-centered books introducing Himalayan art from Neolithic to contemporary times.
  • Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
    • Traveling exhibitions and public art installations
      Organizes and hosts traveling exhibitions and public art projects nationally and internationally, including "Gateway to Himalayan Art" (visited by 59,527 in Gainesville), "About a Living Culture" in Queens (September 2025–September 2026), and Mandala Lab installations in New York City, Bilbao, London, and Milan that engaged over 100,000 visitors.
  • Uncategorized 3 activities
    • Loan of art objects to other institutions
      Shares its collection globally through long-term loans, such as sending objects to the Seattle Asian Art Museum for public exhibition under a five-year partnership.
    • Operating a museum collection of Himalayan art
      Maintains and displays a permanent collection of nearly 4,000 objects spanning over 1,500 years from Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian regions, including long-term installations such as the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room (June 11, 2025–April 20, 2031) and specific wrathful deity artworks.
    • Providing digital access and educational content on Himalayan art
      Offers online resources including 108 object-focused essays, multimedia materials, an interactive map, and a video series with Smarthistory for accessible learning about Himalayan art and material culture; also launched a six-week digital program, The Daily Offering, which received over 100,000 views.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$15.56M
Contributions & grants$1.86M12%
Program service revenue$681K4%
Investment income$11.72M75%
Other revenue$1.30M
expenses
Total expenses$17.44M
Program expenses67%
Admin / overhead26%
Fundraising7%
Salaries & benefits$7.31M
Grants paid out$229K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$203.09M
Cash$731K
Investments$171.21M
Liabilities$4.48M
Net assets$198.61M
Liquid reserves118.3 mo
3 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +33.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 7
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
MARIE HELENE CHRISTODOULOU CHIEF FINANCIAL & OPERATING OFFICER 40 $388K
TIMOTHY MCHENRY CHIEF PROGRAMMATIC OFFICER 40 $335K
MICHELLE BENNETT SIMORELLA DIRECTOR OF CURATORIAL ADMIN & COLLECTIONS 40 $248K
DONA LEE KELLY DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT 40 $242K
JAMIE LAWYER DIRECTOR OF EXPERIENCE & INTERPRETATION 40 $215K
ELKE DEHNER DIRETOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS 40 $194K
HAZEL P KING HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES 40 $144K
board members · 15
  • ANG TSHERING LAMA — TRUSTEE
  • BASHA FROST RUBIN — TRUSTEE
  • CHRISTOPHER J FUSSNER — TRUSTEE
  • EILEEN CAULFIELD SCHWAB — TRUSTEE
  • ERIC SCHOENBERG — TRUSTEE
  • JESSE SMITH — TRUSTEE
  • MICHAEL MCCORMICK — TRUSTEE
  • NAMITA SARAF — TRUSTEE
  • NOAH P DORSKY — BOARD PRESIDENT
  • ROBERT M BAYLIS — TRUSTEE
  • SAMPHE LHALUNGPA — TRUSTEE
  • SCOTT GRINSELL — TRUSTEE
  • SHELLEY RUBIN — CHAIR
  • TONG-TONG ZHU — TRUSTEE
  • TSHERIN SHERPA — TRUSTEE
relationships · 31

Who they work with

  • Annabella Pitkin Partner — Buddhist scholar and Associate Professor contributing expertise on wrathful imagery in Tibetan Buddhist art
  • Bhutan Network — Source region for artworks in the collection
  • Bhutan Foundation Partner — Partnership to promote cultural preservation and education at the Wangduechhoeling Palace Museum and Cultural Center in Bhutan.
  • Board of Trustees Network — Provides financial support for the Rubin Grant Program
  • Brooklyn Museum Partner — Hosts the Rubin Museum Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room exhibition.
  • China Network — Source region for artworks in the collection
  • Chris Germer Partner — Clinical psychologist contributing insights on discerning mindful responses to injustice through the lens of fierce compassion
  • Dr. Nina Petek Partner — Professor of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy offering perspectives on the divine wrath of goddesses Durga and Kali
  • Elena Pakhoutova Partner — Rubin Museum Senior Curator collaborating on exploration of wrathful imagery in Tibetan Buddhist art
  • Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation Funder — Provided lead support for Project Himalayan Art.
  • Gegye Yongyal Rinpoche Partner — Buddhist master providing teachings on the connection between compassion and wrath
  • Harn Museum Partner — Hosted the "Gateway to Himalayan Art" exhibition in Gainesville, Florida.
  • Institute of Museum and Library Services Funder — Provided partial support for Project Himalayan Art through grant MA-253379-OMS-23.
  • Mongolia Network — Source region for artworks in the collection
  • NYC Department of Transportation Art Program Partner — Collaboration to support the creation and installation of public artwork in Jackson Heights, Queens.
  • NYU's Graduate Art Therapy Program Partner — Collaborated on drop-in workshops focused on creativity and self-reflection.
  • National Endowment for the Arts Funder — Provided partial support for Project Himalayan Art.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Funder — Provided a major grant to support Project Himalayan Art from July 1, 2023 through April 2, 2025.
  • Nepal Network — Source region for artworks in the collection
  • Northern India Network — Source region for artworks in the collection
  • Seattle Asian Art Museum Partner — Engages in a five-year long-term loan partnership to display objects from the Rubin’s collection.
  • Smarthistory Partner — Collaborates with Smarthistory to produce the "Himalayan Art Up Close" video series examining objects from the Rubin’s collection.
  • Smarthistory Partner — Partnered to create accessible videos about objects in the Rubin Museum's collection.
  • Spiral magazine Partner — Collaborates on the publication and distribution of thematic content related to Tibetan Buddhism.
  • Tibetan Plateau Network — Source region for artworks in the collection
  • USC Pacific Asia Museum Partner — Hosts the traveling exhibition "Gateway to Himalayan Art" at the University of Southern California in Pasadena, California.
  • USC Pacific Asia Museum Partner — Hosts the traveling exhibition "Gateway to Himalayan Art" from October 17, 2026, to January 10, 2027.
  • University of Oregon Partner — Collaborates through academic engagement, including public lectures and student instruction in art history and museology.
  • Westin Harris Partner — Resident scholar in Himalayan cultures contributing expertise on wrathful iconography.
  • Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche Partner — Served as an advisor in the development of the Mandala Lab installation and program.
+ 1 more
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Art as Emotional Transformation
    methodology: art-as-transformation
    By engaging with Himalayan Buddhist art and its symbolic representations of difficult emotions, participants reframe destructive feelings like anger into skillful, compassionate energy, because contemplative interpretation supported by curatorial and neuroscientific insights enables emotional insight and personal transformation.
  • Expert-Led Close Looking as Pedagogical Foundation
    methodology: close-looking_with_expert_interpretation
    By guiding the public through expert interpretation and conversational analysis of Himalayan art, deeper understanding emerges, because close visual engagement mediated by curatorial knowledge transforms passive viewing into active learning about cultural and spiritual contexts.
  • Global Museum Model for Expanded Access
    methodology: global_museum_model
    By operating beyond a fixed physical location, the museum increases public access to Himalayan art and culture, because a decentralized, programmatic approach enables broader geographic and cultural reach than a traditional brick-and-mortar institution.
  • Grantmaking to Advance Himalayan Art Scholarship and Practice
    methodology: research_grantmaking
    By funding research and new artistic creation related to the Himalayan region, the museum expands knowledge and cultural expression, because targeted financial support enables academic, educational, and creative outputs that sustain and evolve the field.
  • Interdisciplinary Integration for Contemporary Relevance
    methodology: interdisciplinary_integration
    By combining perspectives from art, neuroscience, Buddhist practice, and contemporary culture, the museum makes Himalayan art relevant to modern audiences, because cross-disciplinary dialogue reveals shared human experiences and deepens public engagement beyond aesthetic appreciation.