Catalina Island Museum recently received the Gold Seal of Transparency from Guidestar, the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations. Used by millions of people each year, Guidestar advances nonprofit financial transparency by sharing information (guidestar.org) that helps donors and foundations make informed giving decisions.
This certification is based on financial information the Catalina Island Museum makes available to donors via its website and provided to Guidestar.
“The Gold Seal rating is significant,” said Julie Perlin Lee, executive director of the Catalina Island Museum. “Less than 1% of nonprofits receive this certification and we are so proud of this accomplishment.”
This is the first time the museum has applied for the certification and is currently the only nonprofit organization on the island to have received the Gold Seal. As compared to nearly 200 island museums around the country, the museum is one of only nine that has received this coveted certification.
Guidestar’s own website reports that 9 million individuals visited the online database last year.
“We obtain data from public sources, other organizations that promote philanthropy, and the nonprofits themselves. We then aggregate it into GuideStar Nonprofit Profiles, one profile for each organization in our database. Every nonprofit on our site is invited to update its profile. There’s no charge to update. Users obtain this information through our website, our products, and more than 200 sites and applications that incorporate our data. We’re proud of the reputation we’re earned for the quality, breadth, and depth of our data, and we work every day to maintain and enhance these characteristics,” the website said.
Since 1953, the Catalina Island Museum has proudly introduced visitors to the extraordinary history of Santa Catalina Island. The museum’s holdings include a comprehensive collection of Catalina pottery and tile, a large selection of Native American artifacts from the island’s Tongva tribe, over 10,000 photographs and negatives documenting island life from the mid-1800s to the present day, boat models, sport fishing items, artifacts from the island’s steamships, and much more. In 2016, the museum opened a new building in the heart of Avalon designed to facilitate its expanded mission to exhibit high quality art exhibitions and enhanced programing in the areas of dance, music and film.
In 2019, the Museum will host a year-long celebration of the 100-year anniversary of William Wrigley Jr.’s purchase of Catalina Island.
The Catalina Island Museum offers the best in art and history exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world, and the finest in silent, documentary and international film.
Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The museum’s new Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building is located in the heart of Avalon at 217 Metropole Ave. For more information, call 310-510-2414 or visit CatalinaMuseum.org.
—Courtesy Catalina Island Museum
