The Skyscraper Museum
Overview
Mission
To devote energy and effort to the design history, theory, and practice of urban architecture, planning, and design, the development of cities and urban development, the relationship between built objects and systems and the lives of people in cities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Educational tours - the museum provides tours of its exhibits and collections to groups from elementary through college level classes and senior groups during special morning hours and all day on mondays and tuesdays. Educators lease tours (up to 30 students) that incorporate learning from across the New York state curriculum, including science, mathematics, the arts, and social studies. Students leave with an appreciation of skyscrapers and their role in society as well as a better understanding of the methods of constructing tall buildings.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 100% of its reported program work directly.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 133882190
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Headquarters
- New York, NY, USA
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Museum, Museum Activities
The verdict
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Officer pay is high relative to total spending.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 96
- Sustainability: 78
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 62%; rating input score 62
- Program expense ratio: 71.1%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $34.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
- Public monitoring controls: Limited
- Public policy transparency: Limited
- Public financial transparency: Limited
- Impact reporting controls: Limited
- Public relationship transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Public governance controls: Limited
- Zakat policy transparency: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 28.7%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Operating reserve ratio: 14.43; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 18.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 62% of revenue deployed · 71.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $488K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $125K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 12 annual filings from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.