Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc

Public charity · Grantmaker Asheville, NC EIN: 23-7348133

The mission of Western North Carlina Historical Association is to preserve and promote the history and legacy of Western North Carolina through interpretation, education, collection, and collaboration.

Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc at a glance

Total assets
$3,575,539
+1.9% vs 2024
Revenue (2025)
$220,436
+25.1% vs 2024
Net investment income (2025)
$148,278
+45.4% vs 2024
Expenses (2025)
$211,403
-31.1% vs 2024
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.

Who Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Grant Size Distribution

2 grants across all recorded years

2<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 2 grants of 2 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

1state

Cities

AshevilleMarion

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$10K$20K$30K$40K0 grants2019 0 grants2020 0 grants2021 0 grants2022 0 grants2023 2 grants2024 0 grants2025

In 2024 it made 2 grants totaling $31K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
SA Cemetary Association Asheville, NCProgram Assistance$18,840
The RAIL Project Marion, NCRailroad Project$12,186
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsNet Investment Income
2025$3,575,539$220,436$211,403——$148,278
2024$3,509,709$176,258$306,698$31,0262$102,012
2023$3,574,392$193,179$372,274——$60,900
2022$3,809,935$248,296$313,763——$148,075
2021$4,354,391$2,053,393$157,449——$535,484
2020$2,562,481$93,970$101,843——$43,292
2019$2,568,845$2,325,154$69,429——$1,691

About Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc

Based on IRS filings

Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc is a public charity focused on Arts, Culture & Humanities, based in Asheville, NC. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $3.6M in total assets. Net investment income was $148K.

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc is led by Polly Rolman-Smith, Executive Director on the 2025 filing; 1 of 15 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Polly Rolman-Smith

    Executive Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    40 hrs/week

    $53K (2025)

  • Steven Lee Johnson

    President

    Board Member → President, 2025

    On filings since 2023

    10 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Allan Tarleton

    Board Member

    President → Board Member, 2024

    On filings since 2019

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Dirk Wilmoth

    Treasurer

    Board Member → Treasurer, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    6 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Ralph Simpson

    Past President

    Vice President → President, 2021

    President → Past President, 2025

    On filings since 2019

    6 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Michael McLaughlin

    Secretary

    Board Member → Secretary, 2024

    On filings since 2020

    6 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Catherine Frank

    Vice President

    Board Member → Vice President, 2025

    On filings since 2021

    6 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Kieta Osteen-Cochrane

    Board Member

    On filings since 2021

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Dee James

    Board Member

    On filings since 2022

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Martha Fullington

    Board Member

    On filings since 2023

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Andrea Clark

    Board Member

    New on the 2025 filing

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Ann Ellington Duncan

    Board Member

    New on the 2025 filing

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • BJ Kilgore

    Board Member

    New on the 2025 filing

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jami Daniels

    Board Member

    New on the 2025 filing

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Terry Roberts

    Board Member

    New on the 2025 filing

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (21)
  • Former: Jim Buchanan (2019–2024) — Board Member
  • Former: James Bradley (2022–2024) — Board Member
  • Former: Catherine Brod (2023–2024) — Vice President
  • Former: Kirk Brown (2023–2024) — Board Member
  • Former: Anne Chesky (2024) — Executive Director
  • Former: Geoffery Cantrell (2024) — Board Member
  • Former: Geoff Cantrell (2019–2023) — Vice President
  • Former: Kerri Glover (2019–2023) — Secretary
  • Former: Alan Tarlenton (2020–2023) — Board Member
  • Former: Anne Chesky Smith (2020–2023) — Executive Director
  • Former: Courtney Blossman (2019–2022) — Board Member
  • Former: Stuart Camblos (2019–2022) — Board Member
  • Former: Caragh Koon (2020–2022) — Board Member
  • Former: Alvis Campbell (2019–2021) — Board Member
  • Former: Beth Gentry (2019–2020) — Board Member
  • Former: Gordon McKinney (2019–2020) — Board Member
  • Former: Gwin Jones (2019–2020) — Board Member
  • Former: Dan Huger (2020) — Treasurer
  • Former: Daniel Huger (2019) — Treasurer
  • Former: Richard Graham (2019) — Immediate Past President
  • Former: Timothy Tipton (2019) — Executive Director

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Polly Rolman-Smith — Executive Director: $53KPolly Rolman-SmithExecutive Director$53K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $53K, to Polly Rolman-Smith (Executive Director).

Frequently asked questions about Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc

How large is Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc?

Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc reported $3.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $220K.

What is Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc?

Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc is a public charity focused on Arts, Culture & Humanities, based in Asheville, NC. It holds $3.6M in total assets as of 2025.

Where does Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc operate?

Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc has awarded grants in North Carolina.

What is Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc's EIN?

Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 23-7348133. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.

Data update history

(1)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 8, 2025)

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.

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